My Demons
by AngelWing1138
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is new at Konoha High school, and his first impressions to the entire school are amazing. Why? Because he's the only one known in the history of the school to stand up to Naruto Uzumaki. [NaruSasu, SasuNaru]
1. Enter the Uchiha

A/N: YAY! I started 'My Demons'! A story that I've been thinking about for over two weeks. Oh, this'll be so much FUN! Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this AU Naruto story. It's the typical High School scene, but you know? I'm hoping it's a little different. Anyhow, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

He looked out the car window with blank, onyx eyes, his equally dark hair with its odd style of spiking out naturally in the back ruffling a little from the wind coming in from the open window, pale skin almost glowing to a blinding shine in the sun outside. It was a beautiful day with blue skies, fluffy clouds here and there, everything looking lovely and happy and perfect…

He hated it so much.

Scoffing, he turned away from the scene in front of him, glancing quietly over at his brother as he drove their car. Equally dark eyes and hair matched the younger brother's perfectly, except the older brother's hair was longer than the younger one's, and was tied at the nape of his neck with a tie that he had gotten for his birthday three years ago.

Slowly, the perfect scenes of endless field of grass and farmers happily doing their jobs disappeared as slowly they entered a bustling city with cars lined up bumper to bumper, ambulances were heard every once in a while, and you could actually see people selling their drugs in plain sight to their customers, all of them looking stressed or dirty, but relaxed.

City life. And Sasuke hated it even more the country life. At least when his older brother Itachi and he lived in the country, Sasuke could have gone outside, and it would've been so quiet that you could hear his breaths with the intensity as if he were breathing into a microphone. Here, though, if he even tried to step outside, he'd be assaulted at all sides with the sounds of screeching tires, gunshots and ambulances screaming in the middle of the night. City people's lullaby; his nightmare.

"Aniki…" He said softly, seeing his brother glance his eyes his way before looking at the road again, showing that he was listening to him. "Why are we moving again?"

"We're moving, otouto, because my new University is in the city, and we'll live closer to your new High school as well. Besides, it'll be good for us. We've been in that big house for so long…And I know you still have nightmares about the barn five."

"That was four years ago, you would think I'd forget." Sasuke muttered darkly, remembering the incident that happened when he was twelve…

"No one can forget something that horrific, Sasuke," Itachi said sternly, then turned, and smiled. "Here we are."

Sasuke got out of the car, then looked up at their new… 'Home'. "We live…In an apartment building?"

"It's what I can afford with my new job. You're going to have to find work as well to help." Sasuke sighed, but nodded and crossed his arms, looking at it skeptically, before he decided it would have to do. They were on the top floor, it seemed, and so he'd have easy access to the roof…It wouldn't be that bad, then.

"Well, home sweet home, eh?" Itachi said, turning to look at his brother with a light smile. Sasuke looked at him with a careful gaze, before he sighed, and turned to get his baggage from the trunk, but not before answering his brother.

"Hai."

* * *

He groaned as he felt the insistent poking of his evil, evil older brother, swatting a hand to try and hit him away.

"Come now, Sasuke, it's your first day." He said lightly, and the younger boy could just _hear _that godforsaken smile on his face. Stupid Aniki…

Sighing, knowing that Itachi wouldn't give up his stupid poking until he got a response from him, he lifted his head to glare almost blindly at the man in front of him. His 21-year-old brother just smiled at him sweetly, then stood up and sighed, stretching his arms. "Breakfast is on the table, get washed up and dressed. Your bags at the door, I'm driving you to school."

"Why?"

"Because it's safer if I drive you to it. After, though, you're going to have to walk. You know your way back, right?" Itachi looked at him worriedly, pushing back some of his black hair as he stared at his brother. Sasuke stared at him for a long time, wondering if his eyes would do that thing they did…When they turned red…

"Yeah, I know my way back." He said, mentally shaking his head as he sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Don't worry about me. You have school to worry about too, right?"

"My classes are usually in the afternoon. I have my morning shift at work right now." Itachi said, smiling slightly. Sasuke groaned. His brother was going to be late to work every day, wasn't he? And he bet that Itachi was doing it because he wanted to see the look on his manager's face. Stupid Aniki…

"Alright, I'm getting up, you have to get out, though." Sasuke said, pointing his brother out the open door. Itachi smiled slightly at him, getting the picture, then nodded to him and got up off of his bed, walking out of the door. Sasuke sighed, falling back against his pillow, looking at the roof plainly for a few seconds, before getting up and going to his drawers to get dressed.

He pulled out a dark blue T-shirt with a high collar, then pulled out black jeans, and pulled on some white socks, after putting on the chosen clothes, before going to his bathroom, splashing some water on his face and drying it off with a towel laying beside him, taking his toothbrush and putting on some toothpaste, before he ran the toothbrush under the water, turning it off as he brushed his teeth thoroughly, looking at himself in the mirror with distain.

Black hair that fell into long bangs, framing either side of his pale face, with odd spikes out in the back; long, lanky and thin, skin stretched and pale, eyes darker than his own hair, which in itself had a blue tinge to it in some turns of the light. He sighed, looking away from the mirror as he spat out what was in his mouth, rinsed with mouthwash, and then yawned a little ungraciously as he walked out of his bathroom, exiting his room. He went down the hall and entered the kitchen/living room, where he saw a plate of bacon and eggs, with a glass of orange juice beside it. He smirked slightly, looking over at his brother who watched TV, munching on a piece of toast, before he sat at the table, and started to eat quietly.

"So, what's your job like?" Sasuke asked lightly, looking at his brother with some interest as he ate his eggs. Mmm…Stupid Aniki could really cook…

"I work at a video shack." Itachi replied, looking back at him. "We sell videos, DVDs, games and CDs. I'm usually at stock, but I was trained to use the register as well." Sasuke nodded, sipping the last of his orange juice before he stood up, and put his dishes into the sink, running water on them quickly, before he turned to put his sneakers on, picking up his black jacket and his book bag. If the weather that Itachi was just watching was right, it should be kind of windy out right now, making it colder than usual.

"Ready?" Itachi asked. Sasuke smirked, recognizing that this was the routine Itachi, his father and he used to do every morning.

"Set?" Sasuke asked back. His smile faltered a little when he realized it would be his father who would say the last part…But now he was dead…

Itachi pushed him towards the door a little sadly. "Go."

* * *

Sasuke nodded to his brother as he stepped out of the car, looking at the large public High school he would be going to now. He blinked at the size of it, before he started towards the front doors, where a bunch of students who had always been there were talking to each other, already judging the freshmen and the new kids. He felt himself get sized up, and he took on his usual broody, pouting and dark protective shell, knowing it was the only way he'd survive.

He heard a few girls giggle, gasp and whisper to one another, and inwardly groaned, rolling his dark eyes quietly before he pushed the doors opened with one hand, walking into the equally crowded halls, where old friends were meeting up and hugging, and those who were new walked around, trying to find some people to stick around to keep safe from the masses. Ahh…High school didn't change much from the country to the city. The only difference, probably, would be that the kids spoke different with completely different accents and they were a little ruder.

He got a few glances and stares from people as he walked by them, and went straight into the cafeteria, looking around to see if there was a spot to sit. Seeing a stage at the very end of the caf, Sasuke made his way towards it, seeing that there weren't _too _many people sitting there. He jumped up, going to a clearer spot, and took off his backpack, placing it beside him as he turned on his CD player which he had grabbed out of said backpack, and turned it on, listening to some heavy metal band, trying to drown out the annoying chatter around him. Closing his eyes, he sighed as he was plunged into the angry lyrics and evil sounding guitars.

But then his peace was shattered when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Opening one eye, he looked up to see a guy standing above him with a raised eyebrow. He turned off his CD player, pulling his earphones out, before he shifted to sit up straighter, and looked at the intruder pointedly. "Yes?"

The guy smirked, and sat down beside him, showing that there had been two people behind him. The first guy had long, black hair that was in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, though it stopped near the middle of his back. His eyes were so pale, that they were practically colourless, and he couldn't see any signs of a pupil. He was equally as pale as Sasuke, and he wore a white T-shirt with some type of buckles going up the front. He had on dark blue jeans, and white sneakers, and he had a messenger bag set down at his feet.

The other two guys sat down on either side of the first one, looking at Sasuke with interest as Sasuke continued to just stare at them. One of them had black hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail that practically stuck out from the back of his head, and bored looking grey eyes. He wore a white wife beater under an open green short sleeved jacket, and he had on black jeans and white sneakers as well, and both his ears were pierced once.

The other guy was a little on the big side, with light brown hair that was messy, and black eyes. He wore a white T-shirt with dark blue jeans and black sneakers, and it looked like a scarf was wrapped around his neck for practically no apparent reason other than for the bored looking guy to drag him around once in a while, he guessed. The brown haired guy had a bag of chips in his hands, and he was munching happily.

Sasuke then frowned, looking away from observing them, scowling at the guy who tapped his shoulder. "I asked what you wanted."

"Nothing really, just wanted to ask who you were," the first guy replied. "You're new, so I thought I'd be a bit polite, hmm? By the way, my name is Neji Hyuuga, and behind me are my friends, Shikamaru Nara," Neji pointed to the bored looking guy. "And Chouji Akimichi," he pointed to the guy who was eating. "And your name is?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," he replied easily, looking at them for a moment, before he turned his head and closed his eyes. "You know who I am now, and that's all you wanted, right?"

"Why are you sitting here alone?" The Uchiha opened his eyes to see who had spoken, and noticed Chouji looking at him interestedly. Sasuke sighed, inwardly groaning again, before he shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess because I don't know anyone here and no one is really my 'friend' or whatever." He thought about his sentence for a moment, and laughed bitterly in his head. 'Like I've ever really had friends…' He thought, scoffing at the mere idea of ever attaining friends. He then looked over to see Shikamaru staring at him. He raised an eyebrow. "You say something?"

"Yeah, I asked if you wanted to hang with us. So that you aren't judged by the populace of this school, or picked on or anything."

"I doubt Sasuke is going to be picked on," Neji countered Shikamaru, looking at the Uchiha again, before looking to see a group of girls goggling at him and Neji. "I think he's already gained the affection of most of the female population of this school."

"Not that I would want it." Sasuke muttered, having already noticed the girls. He then looked at the three who had come up and interrupted his alone time with his angry music. Thinking about Shikamaru's request, he sighed and grabbed his bag just as Neji grabbed his, and stood up with the three of them, looking at them. "Mind if I take up on that offer?"

Neji smirked at him again, then nodded, and waved for them to follow him as they walked out of the cafeteria, going out a backstage door, then going back outside.

* * *

"That's the courtyard, where a lot of people actually eat their lunch. It's less noisy out here, and less crowded. That's where we eat." Neji explained to Sasuke, pointing to a yard with a bunch of picnic tables and trees scattered here and there. Hn, it was surprising that there were trees around this school.

"That's the fire escape stairs. They led up to the roof as well, and that's where the Bijuu Gang hangs out."

Sasuke froze mid-step, looking up at the roof with interest as he saw a blonde head for a moment, before he looked back to see Neji and Shikamaru looking up as well, serious looks on their faces. Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow.

"The Bijuu Gang?"

"A vicious gang made up of a bunch of guys who get into trouble a lot." Neji replied, looking back down at the Uchiha with his pale eyes. "They're aligned with the Suna Gang, and they have some alliances with the Akatsuki Gang, though not much. They call their leader 'Kyuubi', because he's the strongest out of all the members."

"It's made out of mostly guys," Shikamaru continued as Neji looked at the roof again, contemplating something. "There are the regular members, who hang up out there, and then there are the special members, those high in the ranks or the food chain; spies, you could say. We spy on gangs like Oto, which is made out of mostly a bunch of bastards, but there are some trustworthy people in it that are also spies in enemy territory. They tell us when Oto plans out gang wars or something."

"You seem to know a lot." Sasuke said, looking at them curiously. Neji shrugged lazily, looking back at him with a tiny grin.

"We have our ways." He then shook his head, and waved for Sasuke to follow him. "Anyhow, come on."

Sasuke nodded, following quietly, but not without looking up at the roof again. And this time, he saw a guy looking down at him, blonde hair the first thing he saw, and then his blue eyes.

Who…?

* * *

Sasuke sat in his English class, listening to the teacher drone on and on about something or other, when suddenly, the doors opened, and in walked in the vice principal, looking a little flustered. She smiled at them easily, and then turned to the teacher. "Kakashi, do you think we can steal your class for a little while? We have an assembly now that Tsunade really wanted to have, because she's strange like that."

Kakashi Hatake, their English teacher, was a man with a lazy look in his eye. Yes, his _eye_, because you couldn't see the rest of his face. He hid the bottom half of his face with a mask, and his left eye was covered by a blue bandage of some sort, probably having had it injured once or something. He had silver hair that stuck out to the left automatically, defying the laws of gravity, and his one visible eye was a dark blue. He had on jeans and white sneakers, along with a long sleeved black shirt. In his hand, Sasuke noticed, he constantly held a little orange book, that had an age warning on the back cover, making Sasuke curious as to what their English teach was reading.

Kakashi looked at the vice principal, before smiling easily, the corner of his eyes crinkling upwards. "Of course, Shizune," he then turned to his second year students, crossing his arms lazily. "Alright, you heard the woman. Out. Go down to the auditorium, that's where the assembly is." Everyone nodded and got up, Sasuke catching up to Neji who shared his English class, sticking to him close so that he wouldn't end up getting swallowed in the masses of talking, loud students.

Once they got to the large auditorium, Sasuke saw Kakashi walk to the front with the other teachers, sitting next to a brown haired man with a scar across the bridge of his nose, his skin tan against Kakashi's pale skin. He had kind grey eyes, and a nice smile, and wore relaxing, but nice clothes. Seemed to be some kind of home economics teacher, if what he heard other students muttering was true. Name was…Iruka Umino…Alright, then.

Finally, a large busted woman came to the front, pushing back her long blonde hair from her dark brown eyes as she grinned at them all, her shirt almost showing off too much cleavage, but the guys in the school's populace that weren't gay didn't really care for that. "Hello, everyone! My name is Tsunade Takahashi, though I'd rather you call me Tsunade, and I am your principal. Welcome back to another year of Konoha High! And if you are new, welcome to Konoha High and I hope you have a pleasant year. Could all those who are new, please stand up?"

Sasuke hesitantly stood up, and looked around, before giving a deadpanned look as he saw all the freshmen stand up…And no one else.

Tsunade saw the freshmen, smiling at them then telling them to sit, when her sights came onto Sasuke. "Aha! Someone who isn't a freshman! Excellent, come up, why don't you?" Sasuke shuffled up, hating the fact that there were eyes all staring at him. He came up beside Tsunade, looking up at her with a glare of disdain. She just smirked at him and patted him on the back, making him jerk forwards. The woman had a strong hit! "What's your name, kid?" She asked, crossing her arms and looking down at him with her hip sticking out lazily.

"Sasuke Uchiha." He said, looking up at her sharply. She grinned at him, liking his attitude, before she turned him roughly to the entire school population.

"Alright, Sasuke Uchiha, say hi to all of the people of Konoha High! I'm sure they're DYING to meet you."

"I'm sure they can't wait for me to die." He said lowly, before he raised a hand at them lazily. He actually heard a few girls giggle, and one squealed. THEY JUST MET HIM! How could they already LIKE him? God, these people were idiots weren't they?

"Hey, Tsunade-baachan! Let the kid down, he's feeling like he's on display, ya know!" A voice shouted from the crowds, and a third year stood up, crossing his arms as he grinned at the woman he must've personally known. Sasuke looked up, and saw the kid he had seen on the roof earlier. His eyes widened as the blonde rose an eyebrow at him, smirking a little.

"Shut it, ya squirt! And I'm not a grandmother!" Tsunade shouted back, pointing an angry finger at him, before she looked back at Sasuke. "Ignore him."

"And he is?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, Uchiha!" Naruto yelled at him, waving at him lazily. "Nice to meet ya."

"Wish I could say the same thing." He yelled back. The auditorium fell silent, even Tsunade was still, but then Naruto started to laugh, clutching onto his stomach.

"You've got guts, Uchiha-teme, I give you that."

"Don't call me teme, dobe." Naruto blinked, and then smirked.

"Ya know Japanese, do ya?"

"I'm half Japanese," Sasuke said hotly, glaring at him. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing really, I just have a new friend to lightly banter with in that complicated language. Half Japanese as well."

"You're telling me this…Why?"

"You told me first, didn't ya?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, then glared at Tsunade, who was watching them with a strange expression.

"Might I go back to my seat now, _Ms_.?" He asked through clenched teeth. She looked down at him, then nodded and pushed him towards his seat's direction. He stomped through, and then fell next to Neji, who looked at him in awe. "What the hell are you staring at me for?"

"You just yelled at Kyuubi."

* * *

Sasuke walked down the halls with Neji and Shikamaru with him, heading down to the Drama room for his third period. The assembly had taken half of first and all of second period, so now they were on their way to third, and Sasuke happened to have it with two of his new…Friends, if that's what you wanted to call them.

And while they were walking down these fine halls of Konoha High School…People were staring and whispering at and about the Uchiha. And it was starting to annoy him. Very much.

"Okay, so I just kind of insulted the Kyuubi from the Bijuu Gang. Whoopee. Could people stop STARING AT ME?" He asked, glaring pointedly at a bunch of guys who stared at him in awe, wondering if he were a genius, really strong, or just stupid. They scampered off after falling victim to the 'Glare-of-Impending-Doom'. Neji chuckled beside him, and Sasuke glared at him as well. "What's so funny, Hyuuga?"

"Nothing Sasuke, I just like seeing the people skitter off, afraid for their very lives because if looks could kill, we'd have half of the school population since the last five minutes." Sasuke rolled his eyes as the other pale boy. The laziest of the three looked at the people staring, and sighed gently.

"How troublesome." He muttered after a while. Sasuke jerked his head in an angry nod, agreeing to his statement, before he bashed the door opened, and walked in, plopping down on a chair that was near the back, Neji and Shikamaru sitting on either side of him, watching in amusement or in an I-Don't-Care way as Sasuke glared daggers at any who tried to look at him in a funny way.

Suddenly, the door to the teacher's office banged open, and in came a man wearing a lot of green, with black hair in a bowl cut, and the thickest eyebrows Sasuke had ever laid eyes on. His eyes were wide as he stared at the man who seemed to be insane as he stood in front of his students in the…Strangest…Of positions he'd ever seen.

"Hello my fellow Drama lovers!" He cried out loudly, before bowing and sitting on a beanbag chair. "My name is Gai Maito, but please, just call me…Master Gai!"

"Hey Gai."

"His Bush-brows."

"What's up, weirdo."

"YOU NEVER LISTEN TO MY PLEAS!" Gai cried out dramatically, tears streaming down his face. Sasuke backed away in his chair, looking at him with a , 'what-the-HELL' look on his face.

"What's WRONG with him?"

"He's the Drama teacher. He takes his class seriously." A girl replied in front of him, turning to see who would talk. Her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke, and she grinned. "Hey, you're that cute Sasuke Uchiha kid. I'm Tenten Itsumi, nice to finally meet they guy who would dare stand up to Naruto." She said, smiling at him kindly. She had long brown hair in two buns on either side of her head, and dark brown eyes with a kind look to them. She had pale skin, and she wore a pink Chinese style shirt with red outlining in, and black dress pants with black boots on her feet. She smiled at him for a moment longer, before turning to look at Gai again. "Gai, could you please stop crying, your freaking out the new kid."

Gai stopped immediately, and looked up at Tenten, who moved her head to the side so that the Drama teacher could see Sasuke clearer. "I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF THE NEW STUDENT TO BE IN MY CLASS? I AM SO HAPPY!" And so, he started crying once again.

"Bushy-brows, come on, what's today's lesson?" A brown haired guy haired guy said, his black eyes narrow as he glared at Gai. He had red triangles tattooed onto either cheek below his eyes, and dark tanned skin, while he wore a grey sweater and black jeans with combat boots on his feet, which were currently resting on the back of someone's chair.

"Ah, young Kiba Inuzuka! The lesson today will be…That you have to be a flower!" Everyone groaned and hit the floor, and Sasuke prepared to kill himself with a ball of lint, but Gai didn't notice.

"Now come all! It's not as bad as it sounds! PLEASE DO YOUR BEST!" He said, looking at them with a large smile. "BE LIKE MY MODEL STUDENT ROCK LEE!"

"OH MY GOD NOT HIM!" A girl with blonde hair screeched, blue eyes wide with fright. "Anyone but HIM, Gai-weirdo!" She wore a purple tank top and a black mini skirt with flip flops on her feet.

"Ino Yamanaka! You are such a negative person to my beloved, precious, protégé Lee! Why is that?"

"He's as freaky looking as YOU." Ino said, pointing a finger at him. Gai shrugged, then smiled and clapped his hands loudly.

"BE A FLOWER! OR YOU FAIL!"

And suddenly, everyone couldn't wait to be a flower. Even Sasuke, who threw away his attempts at lint suicide.

* * *

Sasuke followed Neji, Shikamaru and Chouji, who they had collected after Drama, outside into the courtyard for Lunch, Sasuke still shuddering at the memory of the Drama class and its teacher from Hell. A happy, glittery, sunset filled HELL.

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight…Of flowers coming to impale me." Sasuke said, sitting down at the picnic table they had chosen, taking out the lunch that his brother had made him. He looked into the bag, smiling a little when he saw that Itachi had packed him his favourite, before pulling out the can of Coke© he had in there, opening it and taking a sip from it quietly.

"If you do have those nightmares, Sasuke, make sure to write them down for English. Kakashi wants us to write down one of our most interesting dreams tonight, and that just sounds entertaining and frightening all at once." Neji said, looking at Sasuke with the utmost seriousness, before he took out a thermos of soup, and opened it, drinking from the thermos quietly. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, before he pulled out his sandwich and took out half of it, eating it quietly while Chouji ate through his entire meal, which was the size of Shikamaru's and Neji's lunches combined, and Shikamaru would just once in a while eat something while staring up at the clouds with interest.

"Whatever," He muttered quietly, looking at the ground in front of him, when suddenly a shadow fell in front of him. He blinked, and then looked up to see Naruto Uzumaki standing in front of him, grinning like a fox, though his eyes looked intrigued by the boy in front of him.

"Hallo," he said merrily, waving at them lightly. Neji and Shikamaru nodded at him, while Chouji looked at him in awe for a moment, before stuffing his face in with his food. Naruto grinned at Chouji and the other two, before looking at Sasuke with his dark blue eyes. His orange and black jacket was opened, revealing a black shirt underneath, and he wore black jeans with black combat boots as well. There were a bunch of guys behind him, as well as a few girls, those who included Kiba Inuzuka, from his Drama class of Horror, A guy who looked frighteningly like Gai, a guy with red hair and the Japanese kanji symbol that meant 'Love' on his forehead over his left eyes with black rims around his light green eyes, and a girl with pink hair and green eyes, staring at Sasuke with interest, as well as a few others that Sasuke couldn't see clearly.

"What do you want?" He asked, avoiding eye contact with the blonde.

"I wanna talk with you."


	2. Surprising Information

A/N: Yay! I have some reviews for this! This makes me very happy! And I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. So, since I put this up like, two days ago, I think that the regular updating days will be Monday and Wednesday, if I can keep that up. I'm having fun writing this, but remember, I have to update on my other stories as well, or else those reviewers will hunt me down and kill me. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this! YAY! You find out some things about the complex Sasuke! It might seem like his entire past, but that is just so...Not it. _(smiles evilly) _Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a dark brow raised, blinking at him before he continued to eat his sandwich as if he didn't care. "That's nice, but why do you want to talk with me, exactly?"

"You interest me, Sasuke Uchiha, and I want to see something." Naruto replied, grinning at him still, his arms crossed over his chest as planted his left foot on the bench seat of the picnic table that no one seemed to sit on. Maybe that was a good thing, if everyone put their feet on them…

"I interest you, eh Uzumaki?" Sasuke said, looking at him blankly, before he shrugged. "I seem to be the interest of a lot of people today, if all the staring I receive counts as something." He then sighed and closed his eyes as he ate. "What do you really want…Kyuubi?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at his Gang name, and then crossed his arms, glaring at Sasuke a little coldly. "I want to see if your bite is as bad as your bark." He said, looking at him pointedly. "You act tough, but can you back up your words with muscle?"

"I like to think I can." Sasuke said, sipping his Coke©, as if he didn't care that Naruto was glaring at him. He could feel Naruto's annoyance rolling off of him in waves, hitting him full force, but he just lazily looked up with a quirked brow. "Yes?"

"Show me you can fight."

"On school property? I thought that wasn't allowed."

"The old hag wouldn't care if I carried around a friggin' gun around school, alright? She'd think it'd be for protection."

"Ah, yes, too bad in this State, it isn't legal for you to carry one around." Sasuke said, but he put down his lunch and stood up, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulder, looking at him with a bored expression that could rival even Shikamaru's expression of boredom. He then glared up at Naruto, his eyes narrowed. "Ready when you are, dobe."

"Got it, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said, lifting his feet to stand on his haunches, his hands out and ready to either block or attack, a feral grin on his whisker scarred face. Sasuke stood there lazily, before he shifted his feet apart, and held his hands up to either block or attack in his own way, his hands straight. He bent his knees a little, waiting for Naruto to make the first move. And make the first move the blonde did.

He rushed at him with a speed Sasuke had almost never seen before, but thankfully he had and he jumped up in time, landing on the blonde's shoulders and pushing off of them, before turning around in midair and thrusting his foot down, hitting Naruto square on the head. He flipped back, bending down in a different attacking position, and Naruto turned around, eyes narrowed as he rushed at him, bringing his fist back. Sasuke leaned sideways as Naruto tried to punch him, before kneeing the blonde in the gut.

He ducked when Naruto tried to make a grab for him, and grabbed his wrists, pinning them above his head as he slammed him against a tree that was beside the picnic table, his face close to the blonde's.

"Holding back just insults my pride, and the fact that you challenged me annoys me to no end." He hissed angrily, his eyes narrow slits. "Tell me what the hell you want so that I can eat me lunch in _peace_."

Naruto stared at him for a long moment, before he grinned, and ripped his wrists out of the raven head's grip, before stepping sideways, holding his hands up in peace. "Wow, you caught on quick." He said, looking at him in amusement. "And you figured out I was holding back. Attentive." He clapped mockingly at the Uchiha, which just made Sasuke narrow his eyes even further into slits, and Naruto stopped, his eyes widening as he saw something.

His eyes…Had bled red…

Shaking his head, he grinned at Sasuke, as if he were unaffected by the fight they had just had and the thing that had happened to Sasuke's eyes, though they were back to normal again. "Wanted to know if you wanted to join," he said, indicating to the people behind him, the Bijuu Gang people. "First off, you stood up to me, which not a lot of people have done, second of all, you can tell if I'm at full power, and you've never fought me before now. Third of all, I like you. I like your attitude, I like the way you act towards the world. And then, lastly, I also like the fact that you're strong enough to even pin me against a tree." He mock bowed, before crossing his arms, sitting up and raising an eyebrow. "That immediately qualifies you as an Honour Member."

"A what?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms as he regarded the blonde carefully. He did not like the fact that this kid was hiding something…He acted way too cheerful for his own good.

"Honour Member; they're immediately high in the ranks, and they get the leader's complete and utter trust." Naruto looked at him, smirking as he held a hand out for the Uchiha to shake. "Well?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto's hand for a long while, before he snorted, grabbed his lunch from the table, and rolled his shoulders, glaring at him. "Don't call me, I'll call you." He said, waving as he walked away. Naruto watched as Chouji looked at Shikamaru, who nodded for him to follow him and keep him company, while the blonde narrowed his blue eyes.

"Shikamaru," he called out, and the lazy boy looked at him with his full attention, a rare sight to see from the Nara boy. "I want you to find out everything you can about Sasuke Uchiha tonight, and give me all the information tomorrow in the morning." Shikamaru nodded, thinking over all the different resources he'd have to look over to find out about this new guy as he walked away, calculating how much time it would take him mentally.

"Neji," the pale eyed boy turned to look at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, blinking at him lazily. The leader of the dangerous gang grinned a little like an animal that had been freed from its cage, making Neji mentally gulp. "Look after the kid, eh? I don't want anything happening to this new…Interest of mine." He then turned, and waved for the group of people behind him to follow, the red headed guy with the 'Love' tattoo on his forehead looking back to see Uchiha now talking to Chouji, the larger boy laughing at something the darker boy had said as Neji ran up to catch up with them.

'Interesting…This guy has gotten Uzumaki's interest…' He thought, looking at the blonde beside him with blank green eyes. 'That has to mean something.'

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Sasuke's math teacher with Asuma Sarutobi wasn't eventful, except when Asuma threw a piece of chalk at Shikamaru for falling asleep. Last class was geography with Kurenai Yuuhi, a woman with red eyes that seemed to think that the drama her students go through is amusing, and she also looks over a young girl with dark navy blue/black hair and the same pale eyes as Neji. Neji told Sasuke that the girl's name was Hinata Hyuuga, and she was his cousin.

So after an eventful morning, and a sleep worthy afternoon, Sasuke grabbed all of his things that he needed that night, including the homework he had gotten from English class from Kakashi to write down their most interesting dreams, and got ready to walk home.

A car that stopped in front of him stopped him, though. A window rolled down, and Sasuke saw the red head that had been standing beside Naruto stick his head out the window, looking at him blankly. "Sasuke Uchiha." He called out, and Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow at him.

"State your business." Sasuke said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "Your name would be nice, too."

"Gaara Sabaku." Gaara said, stepping out of the car to reveal two people behind him watching, but he slammed the door on them as he walked over to the Uchiha. "My business is none of your concern…Yet."

"Gaara Sabaku," Sasuke said, looking at him blankly. "Your answer makes no sense. What do you want? I would like to get home."

"Why did you move here, Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Answer me and I'll leave you alone." Sasuke looked at him, contemplating whether to tell him and be left alone, or to not tell him and drive the red head crazy. Looking back at the black circled, dead green eyes, he opted for choice number one. The guy already looked crazy.

"My brother decided that we needed to get out of the country and crap like that, and decided to move here, closer to his University. Anything else I haven't mentioned means it's confidential."

"Your brother's name?"

"I didn't mention it; it's confidential."

"Uchiha, I'll leave you alone." Sasuke once again weighed his options, then sighed and shook his head, glaring at Gaara.

"Itachi. Are you happy now? Can I leave?" Gaara nodded, and Sasuke slammed his shoulder into him, pushing roughly past him as he briskly walked down the sidewalk. Gaara walked back into the car, an interested look on his face.

"Gaara?" A girl, his older sister Temari, with her blonde hair in four pigtails on the back of her head, and dark green eyes that her brother shared with her, wearing a black skirt and a light purple top with a leather jacket and biker boots that buckled up to the very top, looked at him quietly. She was a fourth year in the high school, and was also part of the Bijuu Gang, seeing as it was a haven to her and her siblings from the old gang they were in… "Why did you talk to him?"

"I was wondering the same thing, actually." Kankuro, Gaara's older brother, and a year younger than Temari, said. He had dark brown hair and black eyes, and he wore black jeans, a white T-shirt and black combat boots. He was a third year, like Naruto was.

Gaara looked at them both for a moment, before he grinned, making a shiver run down both his sibling's spines. "He's related to Sharingan Itachi."

* * *

Sasuke got into the house a little bit before a sudden downpour of rain happened outside, and he closed the door to his brother and his apartment quietly, dropping his backpack by the door and slipping out of his shoes, running his fingers through his dark hair quietly as he shuffled over to the fridge and yanked it open, looking into it for something to eat as a snack of something. Finding nothing he craved for, he slammed it shut again, walked over to the couch, and fell onto the back, flipping over so that his torso was on the seat, and his legs were on the back.

He grabbed the remote to the TV, and turned it on, flipping through the channels as he sat upside down, not caring that the blood was slowly rushing to his head, and when he sat up, he'd be really dizzy. He flicked through channels in boredom, his eyes once in a while flicking over to the window which had its curtains drawn, and he watched the rain, the lightening flashing brightly, and the thunder loud and threatening.

About half and hour later is when the power went out, and Sasuke was plunged into darkness.

Sighing, the dark boy rolled to his side and sat up, getting his bearings after having been upside down for so long, before he got up and felt his way to the kitchen area, opening a cupboard and grabbing the candles, a lighter, and the flashlight they had in their just for these occasions.

Turning on the flashlight, he flicked the lighter on with precise control, and lit three candles, before turning the lighter off, placing the candles on the kitchen counter, the table in the hall, and the table in front of the TV. He then sat down on a chair in the living room area, and sighed, flicking the flashlight on and off every once in a while, looking at the roof. He had decided at one point to start counting the dots on the roof, and after he got to about 150, he stopped, his eyes beginning to hurt.

Finally, another half out later, the door opened, and Sasuke flashed the flashlight onto his brother as he came in, soaking wet and looking a little grouchy. "How was your day?" Sasuke asked lightly to his Aniki, just to annoy him.

Itachi flipped him off and slipped out of his shoes, walking down the hall to go get dressed into some cleaner clothes. Sasuke snickered and shook his head, before he went back to staring at nothing as his current entertainment. Itachi came back out of his room in dry clothes, toweling off his wet hair, and a game box was under his arm.

"No, not that game."

"It's our game for a blackout, Sasuke. Come on, just because we don't live at the farm anymore, doesn't mean we can break tradition." Sasuke looked at his brother as if he were joking, and saw that Itachi had a light smile on, meaning he was completely serious.

"As of this moment until you make it up to me by buying me pizza…I hate you." Sasuke said, getting out of his chair and grabbing a pillow as they made themselves comfortable on the floor on either side of the living room table, pushing the candle aside a little and putting the flashlight beside them for more light, before Itachi set down Monopoly©.

"I want to be the shoe." Sasuke said. Itachi grinned and nodded, handing him the pieces as they set up.

* * *

Shikamaru sat in his room in the dark, his laptop that was battery powered on his lap as he held a flashlight to read the key properly. He was typing like mad with on hand, trying to find information about Sasuke Uchiha, the kid he had just met that day for Naruto. Well, he had to. Naruto had ordered him to. And Shikamaru was one of those special members, and the top informant for Naruto. He could find out the history about anyone, even if the files were confidential.

He was a good hacker like that.

Finally, he got into a site where they held the personal information of everyone who had just moved into the city, and looked up the Uchiha family, cracking the code and avoiding the firewall at the same time. He smirked a little at the idiots who thought they could stop him, before he broke the password and double clicked onto Sasuke's file.

Folder after folder opened up, and his eyes widened at the length of it all. But, not wanting to disappoint the leader of the Bijuu Gang and his good friend, Shikamaru sent all the files onto a Microsoft Word© document and sent it to his printer, where he immediately looked up to see that it had started to work, thankfully. He put his laptop aside, and got up, getting the papers that were printing out the information, looking at the first page with blank eyes.

A photo of Sasuke with one of those jail signs and a number on it was shown with the two angles, his now all-too-familiar frown/pout looking at him darkly. The information next to these pictures were what really interested him as he scanned through them, picking up each sheet as it as printed and reading it, getting new understanding of the new kid in their school.

He raised an eyebrow when his family history was printed out, and it was only one word:

Dead.

* * *

Neji was sitting in a dojo-like training room, his eyes closed as he sat on a white cushion, wearing only a pair of black drawstring cotton pants, his hair loose and around his face, falling freely down his back. His well-toned muscled chest rose and fell with each deep breath the Hyuuga took, indicating that he was meditating.

Beside him, Hinata sat next to him in the same position, wearing a white tank top and black drawstring cotton pants as well, meditating with her cousin. Her hair, which was cut short, but she was letting it grow out; fell into her pale, serene face, though she didn't seem to notice.

Suddenly, Neji's eyes opened, and he stood up quietly, his cousin following suit, and they turned to each other, both going into familiar fighting stances as a man walked into the dojo like room in a white yukata, those same pale eyes that Neji and Hinata shared looking at them sternly, his dark hair falling back flatly against the back of his neck.

The Hyuugas were a Japanese family that had moved to North America years ago, but they still kept their traditions strong, and they still wore what their ancestors had worn for generations, or at least the Head of the Hyuuga family did.

Neji glanced at him, before he nodded and turned back to look at Hinata, smiling a little to her as he had seen her grow a tiny bit nervous in front of this man; her father. She nodded, and held out her hands, palm outwards, before she ran towards Neji, hitting him in the shoulder. He countered by hitting her back in the chest with the flat of his hand, and sent her stumbling back.

She caught her balance, and then rushed at him again, fighting as Hiashi Hyuuga watched quietly.

* * *

Naruto kicked at a punching bag in his room, making it sway back and forth violently, before he punched at it faster than he ever had before, his brow furrowed and beaded with sweat, blonde hair damp from what seemed to either be the after effects of a shower, or just sweating like a pig. He stood in only a pair of grey sweatpants, his hands covered in bandages so that when the skin on his knuckles broke skin, they bled onto the bandages and not anything else.

There was a knock on his door, and he grunted, letting whoever it was to enter. The door opened, and in stepped his guardian, Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi looked disdainfully at the mess his charge's room was in, before he sighed, and pushed up the blue bandage thing over his left eye, the eye closed showing a scar running along the lid and down his cheek, before he opened it to show that his eye was actually red. He then pushed down his mask to show a regular looking face, and looked at Naruto with a serious expression.

"I heard you picked a fight with the new kid today." He said grimly, raising a silver eyebrow at the blonde. Naruto stopped beating the crap out of his punching bag, and looked up at his guardian, blinking at him as he wiped off the dripping sweat from his skin. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at Kakashi in the dark that the entire city had been plunged into, the rain still beating down on the glass outside, before he shrugged lightly.

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to see if he was as tough as he acted." He said, turning his attention back to the bag, and started to punch it again, wincing slightly as the skin broken on one of his left knuckles. He felt a hand grip his wrist, telling him to stop, and he sighed, kicking the bag once more for good measure, before he turned and looked at Kakashi, unwrapping his hands quietly. "I wanted to see if he wanted to join."

"Naruto, I thought you said you were going to disband the Bijuu Gang. You promised Iruka before you left his care." Kakashi said, frowning at him in a disapproving way. Naruto shrugged, looking at his bloodied knuckles, before he looked at Kakashi, and grinned.

"What can I say to defend myself? So many people had joined; it was their way of escaping the troubles of their real life, and they became so close knit it was like a family. I can't break apart a family, Kakashi." He said, grabbing a dirtied towel from behind him, and dipping the tip of it into his glass of water, before he started to wash off the blood on his skin. "Gaara and his siblings, you know them. They were running from the Shukaku Gang, a gang that is now extinct, because they had left, and the leader didn't really like that."

"So your gangs are like the mafia. You guys believe if you bribe the church enough, you'll get into heaven?"

"Kakashi, we don't kill people. We hurt them, sure. Mentally scar them, yeah. Kill them? Not so much. Only Gaara has done that, and he is really trying to be forgiven for his sins. Seriously. He goes to the food kitchen every Saturday." Kakashi had to stop himself from laughing at the thought of the rather psychotic looking insomniac behind a counter, giving food to a bunch of homeless guys, a net in his red hair. After imagining the net in his hair, though, he did let out a snort, and looked to see Naruto rolling his eyes, but grinning all the same. "Insane, I know, but it's Gaara remember? He's _already _insane."

Kakashi then sighed, and shook his head, looking at him with a serious face again. "Don't ask Sasuke to join again, Naruto, unless you want some real trouble for you." He said, then patted his shoulder, and indicated to the punching bag. "Go ahead and punch it to death. I know it helps you let out your steam of being afraid of the dark."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, before taking a drink from his glass of water, not caring he had cleaned his knuckles with the water, then rewrapped his knuckles and hands in clean bandages, and began on beating the bag. But before he really got into it, he looked to see Kakashi watching him quietly again.

"What do you mean real trouble?"

"I would tell you, but that's just cruel to him, and his brother." Kakashi then waved at him and walked out, closing the door. Naruto stood there for a moment, before he once again began to beat the punching bag.

* * *

The next day, early in the morning before dawn, on the roof of Konoha High, you could find the special members of the Bijuu Gang, and a few of the early risers, including Naruto, who sat on the edge of the roof, looking out over the horizon as the sun was slowly rising. Once the red and yellow bled into the dark sky, brightening it up so that he had plenty of light, he nodded to Shikamaru, who walked over to him and handed him a folder of information.

"Holy shit, Shikamaru, did you get the entire family history of this guy?"

"Actually, his family history is peculiar. You'll get it when you read it. Other than that, that's his file. His information and his records."

"What type? Educational or something?"

"No, his criminal records." Shikamaru said, looking at him quietly. "It seems that he was once the right hand man to Orochimaru, the head honcho of the Oto Gang. He left Orochimaru though, because they were causing trouble for his family, and in return, Orochimaru turned him into the police about selling drugs such as marihuana." Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "He, of course, never did the drugs. He just sold them."

"Anything else?" Naruto asked, looking through the papers in the folder as he thought about what Kakashi had told him last night about Sasuke. Real trouble, huh…?

"Plenty. His record is actually about the size of yours, if not a little bigger. Seems like he was a rebellious kid. He was in rehabilitation for a while, but this was before he had sworn off drugs forever. He was about…10. After he spent a year in there, his parents checked him out, and they moved to the country, Sasuke not even really remembering anything about his life in the city. Maybe like forced amnesia, or a picky memory. Anyhow, the point is, he moved to the country, and everything stopped for a while. He was brought home plenty of times by the police for stealing a farmer's cow or something, but nothing too serious like before. After that, though, I don't know anything."

"What about his family history…" He trailed off, coming across a peculiar sheet. "What the hell is this?"

"That, Naruto…Is his family history."

Naruto blinked, looking up at him with raised eyebrows. "You're shitting me."

"Wish I were." Shikamaru said, then walked over and took the sheet with the one word on it, looking at it as he remember looking at the site to se if this was what was really supposed to be printed off. "It seems like the family history on the site was once a huge file, most likely because the Uchihas are practically famous in a different city, but it seems that I guess a few days ago by the recent save of the file, that some guy hacked into the system like I did and changed the entire thing, and just wrote down 'dead', meaning either the entire family except for Sasuke and apparently his brother are dead, or someone doesn't want anyone to know anything about the Uchiha family."

He then picked up another few pages, and showed them to Naruto with a blank face. "And this is his old school records before he moved to the country and got a clean record to start over. Seems like he liked starting fights, and usually, the opposing party member would end up with wounds that were too nasty for the school nurse to take care of, and they were sent to the hospital. One of them is actually still in a coma." He then sighed and handed the pages back.

"There's a bunch of other crap in there about Sasuke, and it makes me wonder about the guy. He didn't seem so bad yesterday. A little dark and quiet, moody, even, but who knew he was capable of THAT?"

"What's that?" Naruto asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Look at the last page." Naruto nodded and flipped through the other pages, getting to the last one. His eyes widened.

"The hell…"

"Exactly."

* * *

Sasuke was writing up the last of his report for English before school started, sitting on the stage like he had the day before, when suddenly, a shadow fell over him. He glanced up, and smirked a little, seeing Neji and Shikamaru standing there, Shikamaru with his hands in his pockets and not really caring, Neji holding a cell phone in his right hand loosely. Neji smiled back at him, and they sat down. A little bit after they were joined by Chouji, who looked flushed and he whispered something to Shikamaru, whose eyes widened and he smirked at his best friend, patting his shoulder in congrats. Before Sasuke could ask, though, Neji spoke.

"So, Sasuke, what was life like before you moved?" He asked lightly, curious as to how the boy used to live, but with the meeting that happened up on the roof earlier that morning, he had a clue. But Sasuke didn't know that.

"My family and I lived in the country for about a year. It was good there, I guess. It was quiet, and everyone was friendly. I didn't really like it, but that's because I've never had a bright outlook on life." He said quietly, going back to his report. Talking about his past…Was never a pleasant deal. Especially…Since he couldn't remember anything beyond the past years since he was twelve…

"And before that?" Neji asked gently, seeing his uncomfortable expression, as if pained by something.

"I don't remember." He said gently, looking up at him with cold eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Call me curious." Neji said, holding his hands up to try and calm the boy in front of him. Sasuke just nodded, and went back to writing the last of his report. Neji then looked back at Shikamaru, who bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, before he stood up.

"I gotta go; I just remembered I forgot something outside. How troublesome." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of forgetting something someplace farther than three feet from him. Sasuke nodded, and Neji and Chouji watched him leave, before Neji peeked over his report, reading a few lines, and smirking. "You actually had those nightmares?"

"Hell yes, Gai really does creep the crap out of me." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes at the thought of the Drama teacher he'd be seeing third period. "God…"

Neji just snickered.

* * *

Shikamaru climbed up onto the roof, looking at Naruto who was reading through Sasuke's file with keen interest, his brow furrowed and his teeth worrying his bottom lip quietly as he read, flipping through different pages and blinking at some of the things that was in it, before looking up at Shikamaru with a raised brow. "What did you find out?"

"Sasuke seriously doesn't remember anything before the age of twelve." Shikamaru said, crossing his arms and looking at him. "We don't know why yet. We might look for his brother and ask him."

"What's his brother's name? It doesn't say in here, before the family history and anything to do with family have been rewritten, if your guess is correct." Naruto said, pointing to the file of pages that only had one word at the top, all of them the same: Dead.

Shikamaru shrugged lightly, and this is when Gaara, who was sitting next to Naruto, decided to speak up, a small smile on his lips, frightening everyone around them, excluding Naruto because he knew the boy beside him well. Why else would he be his right hand man, eh?

"I know who his brother is." He said quietly. Temari and Kankuro, who sat on a different ledge on the roof, looked at their brother, before shivering at the look of pure glee on his pale, gaunt face.

Naruto raised a blonde eyebrow, smirking a little at his second year friend. "Oh, Gaara? What do you know about him?"

"I asked Sasuke about him last night. Why did he move, and his brother's name." He said quietly, looking at Naruto with his pale green eyes, permanently rimmed with the dark black of self-induced insomnia. "He moved because his brother thought that they should move away from their old home, the farm. His brother, though…"

"What's his name, Gaara?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing a little as Gaara chuckled darkly, before looking up at him.

"Itachi."

Everyone froze at the name, and Naruto actually blinked and shivered a little at the mention of his name, before looking at him again. "Are you serious?" He sighed when Gaara nodded, before the red head fell back into his silent, cold demeanor, tapping his fingers quietly against each other. Naruto then sighed, running his hands through his spiky blonde hair.

"That…Explains a lot, doesn't it? Sasuke's eyes turning red…The reason why they moved…" He sighed, closing his eyes.

"Sharingan Itachi, the best hacker in the business." Shikamaru said quietly. "One of the top three in the Akatsuki Gang."

Naruto then grinned a little like a fox, opening his eyes. "Why hasn't he visited me yet?"


	3. Remembering Something

A/N: Yay third chapter! Anyhow, thanks for all the reviews so far! I would do review replies, but that's kinda sorta illegal on fanfiction, SO I guess I won't. But thanks to everyone who's so far reviewed! It means a lot to me! Anyhow, this chapter we figure out some more things, and create more questions...And just yay. Enjoy! And the Bijuu Gang...IS A REALLY ORGANIZED GANG.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sasuke stretched his back out as he got changed for gym, which was second period. He sighed, pulling on the uniform white T-shirt and the black shorts, pulling on his running shoes and rolling his socks down so that they didn't make him look like a dork or whatever…Not like he much cared, but still.

Sighing, he looked behind him and rolled his eyes, seeing Gaara, whom he shard second period, along with apparently first and fifth periods, with. He then walked out of the change room quietly, looking around as he saw all the other guys in their uniforms standing around, the girls mingling in with them quietly. He raised an eyebrow, seeing as this was a unisex gym class, before he sighed and walked into a corner, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, trying to drown out the voices.

That's when he felt an annoying tap on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he glared at whoever was in front of him, and then blinked when he saw the pink haired girl with green eyes he had seen standing with Naruto the other day. "What?"

"You're Sasuke Uchiha, right?" She asked timidly, scuffing her gym shoes on the polished wooden floor of the gym, her short bubblegum pink hair pushed behind her ears, her green eyes looking at him questionably. She wore the girl's uniform for gym, which was similar to the guy's uniform, except that they wore tank tops and not T-shirts, but that's only a small difference. She smiled at him shyly when he nodded to her question, and then looked around, as if making sure no one was watching, before she leaned towards him.

"I thought what you did yesterday was brave." She said quietly, pulling back. "You know, standing up to Naruto like that…" Sasuke growled, rolling his eyes.

"He's an idiot who shouldn't have so much respect and fear from the people at this school." He said irritably, looking at her. "What the hell do you want?"

"Just wanted to talk, seeing as it seems like you don't know anyone in this class." She said, smiling at him a little timidly. Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "My name is Sakura Haruno, by the way."

_That _got his attention. He stared at her, his eyes wide. He had heard that name before…Haruno…But from where…?

Sakura continued on as if she hadn't noticed that he was now paying attention to her. "I first wanted to welcome you to Konoha High school, since you're the only new guy here that isn't a freshman, and then I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my partner when we do our laps whenever Anko comes here."

"Who?" He asked, not recognizing the name she had just said. She blinked, and then laughed nervously, suddenly remembering that he didn't know the name of the gym teacher.

"Right, right. Anko Mitarashi, she's the gym teacher for the unisex class. She likes to make us run three laps around the school at the beginning and the ending of the year, and I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner. Usually I'm partnered with Ino, but it looks like she's partnered with someone else at the moment. Don't know why." She shrugged, and then looked at him. "Anko makes us run in pairs of two. Usually it's supposed to be of the different sex, but she makes exceptions because usually there are fewer girls in this class than there are boys."

He thought over what she had said, noticing how she got bolder and bolder as she spoke, indicating that she was only nervous and timid when first talking to somebody she didn't know. She must've been comfortable around him now. How cute. Sighing, he looked at her as she watched him for an answer, and then nodded. "Fine."

"Great! Alright, well, you might want to come out of the shadowed corner, because if you stay over here, you'll never get to know more people, and Anko will torment you for being a loner for at least a month. I remember when Shino Aburame was tormented. He shut her up immediately after he started to hang around Hinata Hyuuga. She's in this class as well, and Shino's here, too." She looked back to see his eyebrow raised. "You don't care, but still, it's better to mingle than be singled out by Anko. She makes embarrassing comments."

"I think I can handle myself, Sakura." He said, but pushed himself off of the wall in the corner anyhow, and followed her into the crowd, ignoring the stares he got from most of the girls in the room. Damn it, why couldn't they leave him the hell alone?

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Sasuke's head whipped over to see who it was, only to see a woman in black shorts and a white tank top come in, a beige jacket that fell to her ankles and had the sleeves cut off trailing behind her, her white running sneakers squeaking slightly on the floor. She had dark violet hair that was pulled up into a bun on the back of her head, spikes standing up making her hair look wild but tamed at the same time. Light coloured eyes that looked like a light purple at first glance looked at them coolly for a moment, before she grinned at them, and placed her fists on her hips, standing in front of them.

"Alright, maggots! It's the first gym lesson of the semester, because Tsunade decided to be STUPID and have the assembly during first and second period yesterday, leaving me to sit on a chair in the auditorium in boredom. I hear that I have the new kid, so would he _please_ come up and say hi to me personally? He looks like he'll be fun to have in this class."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, walking to the front, and stood in front of Anko, looking up at her blankly. Anko looked back down at him blankly, before the now all-too-familiar grin was plastered on her face, and she slapped his back, and much like yesterday when Tsunade patted his back, he stumbled forward a little at the force of the hit. Were all the women here ridiculously strong or was there something in the cafeteria food that someone wasn't telling him about?

"Sasuke Uchiha, eh?" She said, looking down at him, before leaning forward to hiss into his ear, "Orochimaru's still pissed off." When she pulled back to see his reaction, though, she was surprised to see a confused, blank look, an eyebrow raised at her.

"Who's that?" He asked simply, and Anko's eyes widened. This was the boy she had heard about from her old gang leader before she had left gangs forever. She had visited Orochimaru in prison though to spit in his face, and he told her that if she ever met up with a Sasuke Uchiha, to tell him that he was displeased with him. Now that she had delivered the message, though…

She shook her head, mussing up his hair, before shoving back into the crowd. He stumbled a bit, before going back to where his new pink haired companion stood, waiting for him. She smiled at him and he nodded, before turning to look at Anko who was once again standing there smirking at them with her fists planted on her hips firmly.

"Now, _because_ it's the first gym class of the semester, we're going to do our _favourite_ thing in the world and jog three laps around the school! Everyone ready for a little morning chill?"

A _little_? It was _FREEZING _outside today. This Anko woman, Sasuke decided as he got into line beside Sakura, getting ready to jog outside, was completely insane. First she talks about this guy named Orochimaru and he's apparently very pissed at him, and then she decides to make them jog outside. _OUT. SIDE._

He could sense the hatred of this class already.

* * *

Sasuke sat in the back of the row of seats again, preparing himself to be mentally scarred by Gai's entrance while everyone just talked to each other, and Neji watched him from the corner of his eye in amusement. He was doing as he was told by Naruto, and was keeping a close eye on Sasuke to make sure that nothing happened to him. But that didn't mean who couldn't inwardly laugh at his mental pain at seeing their dramatic Drama teacher.

The door opened and Gai flaunted in, striking a pose, making everyone quiet down and Sasuke have a piece of himself die on the inside because the man was wearing a green spandex one-piece suit. Oh God help him now…

"GOOD MORNING, MY LOVELY STUDENTS! Today is the SECOND day of Drama class, and since yesterday we were a flower, today we shall…"

"Save our mentality?" Sasuke muttered as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come.

"WE SHALL DO THE MIRROR TECHNIQUE!" He said, clapping his hands happily and smiling, sparkles and rainbows appearing around him. Sasuke shuddered, making Tenten, who sat in front of him; stifle a giggle into her fist while Neji inwardly chuckled at the boy's obvious discomfort.

"Now, pick a partner, everyone, and you shall do whatever the person looking into the 'mirror' does. One of you shall be the person, the other, the mirror! NOW STAND UP, PICK YOUR PARTNER, AND PLEASE, IMPRESS ME LIKE YESTERDAY! You were all so EARGER to be flowers!"

"You threatened to fail us if we didn't, freak…" Sasuke mumbled under his breath, then sighed and closed his eyes, not really caring who he ended up with. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow in question at Shikamaru in question.

"You want to be the person looking into the mirror?" He asked, indicating that he was asking him to be his partner. Sasuke shrugged, then nodded when he saw that the lazy boy wasn't about to be the person looking into the mirror. He stood up, sighing as they walked to a free spot on the carpet, Sasuke looking over to see Neji not too far away, Tenten his partner. He didn't look too comfortable being the person who was the mirror, but he did it so that he wouldn't fail this class. Gai had that…Frightening power over people.

Sasuke then turned to Shikamaru, who just stood there, eyebrow raised. Sasuke shrugged, and Shikamaru shrugged at the same time, and then Sasuke started to move randomly, slowly, so that Shikamaru followed his movements.

This was so degrading…

* * *

Naruto walked calmly out of his math class he had just had with Asuma, looking around the halls as other students walked out for lunch. He smirked when he saw Shikamaru and Neji walking out with Sasuke, who looked to be grumbling about something, most likely Gai and his weird, weird teaching ways. He then looked away, before he looked suspicious, and walked down the hall, and out of sight.

The people that were in the Bijuu Gang regularly walked a few feet behind him, all of them different students you wouldn't expect to be in a gang, and those you would expect to be in the city's most wanted list. The people that were in this gang consisted of many in different gangs, and people that didn't seem to get along in public, but in private, they were actually fairly close. Some people that were well known in the school were even in the gang.

The current members of the gang that went to this school and weren't special members that went to the roof every morning, lunch, and after school:

Naruto Uzumaki, the leader, called Kyuubi.

Gaara Sabaku, the second in command, called Shukaku, from his old gang.

Shino Aburame, an informant, called Kikai.

Temari Sabaku, the muscle of the gang, called Desert Rose.

Sakura Haruno, the brains and strategy planner, called Cherry Blossoms.

Kankuro Sabaku, the muscle of the gang, called the Puppeteer.

Hinata Hyuuga, the medic of the gang, called Hime.

Rock Lee, the speed, informant gatherer, and muscle of the gang, called the Green Beast.

Not a fairly large group of people hung around the roof, but there were plenty of other people in different gangs and who flitted around the school keeping their identities secret because they were usually spies.

The Bijuu Gang was actually a very organized group of kids that needed a home to come to with an understanding family. Naruto had first made the gang when he was picked on long ago when he was a child, being half Japanese and blonde didn't mix well with other half Japanese people. He had created it so that he would have a shelter to run to, and had found a few people who understood his pain.

Those people were long dead.

* * *

Shikamaru was laying down on the grass beneath a tree, watching the clouds as they rolled by, his jacket on keeping him warm from the chill of the fall. He glanced over at the roof of the school and saw Naruto talking to some of his gang members, laughing and teasing them most likely, before he sighed. He felt kind of bad for the blonde. He's lived such a hard life…

Shaking his head, he sighed and looked over at Sasuke, who was talking once in a while to Neji and Chouji, both who were talking to each other and once in a while asked the Uchiha a question. He frowned slightly as he looked at the boy. He always seemed to wear a high collared shirt…

He got up, stretching and making the other three look at him in shock and question. Well, he didn't blame them; he got up on his own free will. That was amazing in on its own. "I'm going to go for a walk." He said simply, shrugging. "I'll be back later." He then waved as he started walking away, the other three watching him for a moment, before going back to what they had been doing previously.

Shikamaru looked back, before he walked to the fire escape, walking up the iron stairs slowly as he went up to the roof, walking over to Naruto who was talking quietly with Gaara, who was whispering something, not wanting anyone else to hear. Naruto looked up and blinked to see Shikamaru, a rare treat indeed.

"What's up, Shikamaru?" He asked, standing up and walking over to him, raising a blonde eyebrow in question.

"Just wondering something. You know more than me about gang marks." He said, crossing his arms. "Some gangs like to take tattoos to show what gang they are in. Is that the same with the Oto Gang?"

Naruto thought for a moment, before he nodded, looking at him in confusion. "Yeah, Orochimaru likes to make them get these certain tattoos for their ranks." He said, thinking for a moment. "Anko has one, I think on her shoulder on the left side. That's why she wears a high collar jacket. Why?"

"Sasuke always wears high collar shirts. I was wondering if he was hiding something.

"As if, he knows about his past and he's just playing bullshit?" Naruto asked, looking at him in interest, before he smirked and nodded a little. "I see the connection. But I doubt he actually remembers."

"Why is that, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde 3rd year. Naruto turned to him, shrugging lightly as he let his eyes go over to where Sasuke was sitting eating his lunch peacefully.

"His brother is Sharingan Itachi."

* * *

Sasuke wrote down the math problems from the board onto a sheet of paper and started to answer them quietly as Asuma continued to talk about how you should solve them. The raven head boy didn't listen, though, because he already knew how to answer these questions. He didn't need help from some math teacher that smoked during breaks in the teacher's lounge.

He grasped his throat at the thought of cigarettes, something clicking in his mind…As if it was connected to him…But then he shook his head, thinking that he was just tired. He continued to write down his answers, once in a while glancing over at Shikamaru who sat next to him, snoring softly as he slept, all of his answers already written. Sighing, Sasuke lifted a hand, holding out three fingers, before he mentally counted down.

'Three…Two…One…Now.' A piece of chalk hit Shikamaru square on the head, and said lazy boy slowly lifted his head, blinking in confusion, before he yawned widely, a hand over his mouth as he sat up and scratched the back of his head.

"What is it, Asuma? I'm already done." Shikamaru said, holding up the sheet filled with answers. Asuma sighed shaking his head as he muttered something about needing a smoke, before he went around helping the other students. Shikamaru glanced over at Sasuke to see the Uchiha once again gripping his neck, confusion in his dark eyes. "Hey…You okay?"

Sasuke stood up abruptly, nodding before he looked at a questioning Asuma. "I need to use the facilities." He said simply. Asuma nodded, pointing to a hall pass, and Sasuke grabbed one, before he walked down the hall, not looking back at a confused looking Shikamaru who was frowning thoughtfully.

Sasuke went to the washroom, his hands trembling by the time he got there. He went to a sink, his arms holding him up as he suddenly felt weak, and he clumsily started one of the taps in the sink, cupping his hands under the freezing cold water, before he splashed his face with the liquid, trying to clear his head.

And that's when it happened.

His eyes widened and he cried out as if in pain, clutching his head as he fell to the tiles of the washroom floor, rocking back and forth as he jerked every once in a while, his breathing erratic. Someone opened the door to the bathroom, and saw him having a spasm there, before they leaned out, frightened, and called out for a teacher and quick. Kakashi, who had been roaming the halls, walked into the bathroom, and his visible eye widened, before he scowled.

He lifted the black haired boy carefully in his arms as Sasuke continued to clutch at his head, his eyes flying this way and that, as if looking at something in his mind's eye. "My fault…It's all my fault…" The silver haired teacher heard him mutter. Kakashi looked down at him in question.

"My entire fault…They're dead because of me…"

"Shit."

* * *

Itachi was lazily doing his work when his buzzer…Buzzed. He looked down, looking at the message, and his eyes widened, before he cursed under his breath. Shoving his stuff into his pack, he stood up and looked at the teacher with stoic eyes. "Ms, I have to leave. I just got an important message from my brother's school."

The woman looked at him before she nodded in understanding, going back to what she had been doing before. Itachi then sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the room, down the hall and outside to the parking lot, avoiding the puddles as he got to his car, getting in and slamming the door, before throwing his bag into the backseat and jammed the key into the ignition, and started the car, flooring it as he got onto the road, swerving through different roads as he made his way quickest to Sasuke's school.

'Damn it…Damn it, damn it, damn it! I thought that he was going to be okay here…' He thought angrily, breaking abruptly in Konoha High's parking lot, getting out and locking the car as he walked briskly to the front door, slamming it open as he walked down the halls to the office, where a secretary ran out, looking haggard.

"Please tell me you're young Sasuke's guardian?" She panted, looking at him with wild blue eyes. Itachi nodded, and she sighed in relief, before she let him follow her back into the office. She opened the door, and their ears were assaulted by screaming and things breaking.

"We don't know what happened. Kakashi found him like this in the bathroom." The secretary explained as Itachi walked straight to his brother, and grasped his shoulder, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"Sasuke, what do you remember?" He asked, looking at those wild dark eyes slowly bleeding red from being forced to sit still.

"THEY'RE DEAD! Because of ME!" He screamed out. "It's my fault!"

Itachi swore under his breath. "What else?"

"I shouldn't have left…They would be okay if I hadn't left…" Itachi once again swore, before he placed his hand over Sasuke's eyes, forcing them to close as he closed his own eyes, before he opened them, the black that was once there stained red.

"Sasuke…They're dead but it was an accident…You don't know anything about what happened before you were twelve…Everything is blank…You remember nothing…They died because of an accident…" Sasuke's twitching body slowly seemed to relax, and Itachi's eyes faded back to black. He removed his hand to see Sasuke's blank, glazed looking black eyes, before he looked up in confusion.

"Aniki…What are you doing here?"

"What do you remember about the incident that happened when you were 12?"

"They died…In a fire accident." Sasuke replied, confused.

"And before that? Before you were twelve?"

"Nothing, Aniki, you know that." Sasuke shook his head, looking at Itachi with a strange look. "Aren't you supposed to be at school, Aniki?" Itachi sighed in tired relief, patting Sasuke's head, before he looked over to see Kakashi standing there, looking at him with a blank look.

"Kakashi, look over him for me, will you?" He said softly, before he sighed, and looked down the hall to see a blonde head poking out, looking interested. He smirked and waved at Naruto, before he sighed and patted Sasuke's head again. "I'll be around the school if you need me, alright?" He spoke to the adults in the office. They all nodded, and Itachi nodded once before walking out quietly, going down the hall and going outside, climbing up the fire escape to the roof.

* * *

Neji and Shikamaru climbed up the fire escape onto the roof, getting onto the roof when they reached the top. As soon as they looked up from their conversation, they both practically had a heart attack, seeing Itachi sitting in Naruto's spot, looking over his shoulder as he saw the kids at the school slowly scurrying away or making their way to the rooftop like the two that had just joined him.

He looked over, then smiled softly and nodded to them. "Hello there, Shikamaru, Neji." He said, before he looked over their shoulders. "You're holding up the line."

They blinked, and got out of the way of the stairs as the members of the Bijuu Gang all went up to the roof, including the special members. Naruto got up last, and looked up at Itachi, smirking slightly.

"Hey there, Sharingan." He said, waving as if he were bored as he walked over to him, sitting down beside him. Gaara sat down on the side of Naruto he usually sat at, looking at Itachi from the corner of his eyes, before he grinned slightly. Suddenly, a phone started to ring, and Naruto turned his head to look at Neji, who answered it with a frown.

"Hello? Oh…Alright, yeah, come on up. Mmhm, understood. Alright." He hung up, and then shrugged. "Our spies from Oto are coming over. They say they have some information on Orochimaru and his recent escape attempt." Naruto nodded, before he sighed and closed his eyes as the special members of the gang started to talk with one another.

The special members of the gang went like this:

Neji Hyuuga, the head informant and muscle, as well as spy, called Byakugen.

Shikamaru Nara, their hacker and spy, as well as head of intelligence, called Shadows.

Kiba Inuzuka, muscle and spy, called Mutt.

Tenten Itsumi, weapons expert and information gatherer, called Melee.

Naruto watched them all for a moment, before turning to Itachi. "It's good to see you again, I haven't heard from you in a while." He said, leaning back on the ledge slightly as he watched the older man look around the gang, before looking back at him. "What do you think?"

"It's large enough and seems strong enough to me." He said quietly, and then sighed, looking out over nothing. "Sorry I came today unexpectedly. It was my brother, Sasuke." He said quietly, and then shook his head. "Not that it matters."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "It does matter. We want him to join." And that's where he made a mistake.

Itachi turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as they bled a dark red for a moment, before he shook his head, and they faded back to black. "No. He can't join this." He said swiftly. "He'd remember everything he's forgotten."

"Why doesn't he remember anything before the age of twelve, Sharingan?" Naruto asked casually, looking at the Uchiha with a lazy look in his eye. Itachi's eyes narrowed at him again, before he smirked, and shook his head.

"That's nothing for you to concern yourself with, Kyuubi." He said, standing up. "It was good to see you. I'll come see you again with information from Akatsuki." He said, then waved as he walked off, climbing back down the fire escape. Naruto watched him for a while, before lazily turning his head to look at Shikamaru, who was waiting for him to speak.

"Shikamaru…Find out everything you can about Itachi Uchiha, eh? I want to se if there's anything…Special, about him."

* * *

Sasuke walked inside the apartment to see that his brother was always at the couch, watching TV quietly with a cup of warm milk in his hands. Sasuke blinked, confused as he slipped out of his shoes and dropped his backpack next to the door, walking over and slipping onto the couch upside down next to his brother.

"What are you doing home so early?" Sasuke asked, looking over at his brother curiously. He didn't remember anything that happened at school other than when he went to the bathroom, he blacked out, and then he woke up to find himself in the office, Kakashi sitting nearby.

Itachi smiled at his little brother, looking at him quietly, before he shook his head. "They let us out early today, I guess. I don't know why." He said, scratching the back of his head. He flipped to the news channel, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

_Akatsuki suspected of the murder of a young girl last week. Police found the body a few days ago, mangled and torn, much like the attacks of on of the Akatsuki members…_

Itachi turned off the TV at that, shaking his head. 'We didn't kill her…' He thought angrily, frowning as his closed eyes threatened to bleed red, something that happened whenever he was angry or whenever he had to placate his baby brother. He then sighed, looking over to see Sasuke staring at him in interest.

"You want take out for supper?" Itachi asked, smiling at him quietly. Sasuke smiled and nodded, flipping over to sit up right, his head spinning slightly. Itachi laughed at him, ruffling his hair, before he got up to call a Chinese take out restaurant.

* * *

Shikamaru sat once again at his laptop, going through the same securities he had the other night and then clicking on Itachi's file. The same number, if not more, of folders popped up like it had for Sasuke, and he looked at everything, before his eyes widened, and he clicked everything, putting it on a Microsoft Word© document, printing it and grabbing the sheets, his eyes wide still.

Every single page printed off said the same thing:

Confidential.

* * *

Neji frowned as he looked at his panting cousin, who was holding herself up by placing her hands on her knees, taking in deep breaths and breathing out her mouth slowly. He then grimaced as he heard a cough, and turned his head to see Hiashi standing there, frowning.

"Hinata, I thought I taught you how to be better than this." He said his voice smooth and cutting the young girl as if she had been cut with a knife. Neji decided, before Hiashi went into one of his lectures, to save his cousin.

"Uncle Hiashi, I'll train with Hinata some more. But if you could leave…?" Hiashi looked at the boy, before he sighed and nodded, turning away and walking away, down the hall. Neji stood there, listening until his footsteps were gone, before turning to face his cousin.

"You okay?"

"Yes, thank you." She said, sitting up and smiling at him, before she coughed into her fist, and sighed, shaking her head a little.

"Do you…Have what my father had…?" Neji asked nervously. Hinata looked at him with shock, before she lowered her head, and Neji frowned, lowering his head as well, before he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"Let's get training."


	4. Help Me

A/N: A voila! Chapter four. A little late, but on the due date, as promised. It's shorter than the past three, but that's because I didn't want to drag the chapter out too much. While the past threechapters have been eleven pages each, this one is around 8 pages. Still a nice length, but not as nice as the other three. Oh well, I like it. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Sasuke groaned into his pillow, burying his head into it to try and drown out the noise of his now working alarm clock. He didn't want to get that day; he felt like crap. His head hurt, his stomach was ready to reject the dinner he had happily ate last night, and his throat was dry.

When Itachi came into the room to shut off his alarm clock and wake up his brother himself, he was surprised to see his already pale brother paler than usual and sweating, the blankets around his legs tangled. He then frowned, remembering suddenly. 'The aftereffects…' He thought, sighing before he sat down on the bed, placing his hand on Sasuke's forehead.

"You're burning up with a fever and you're flushed. Eyes are dilated a bit…You're sick. Go back to sleep, otouto." Itachi said comfortingly, straightening out the blankets and pulling them up to Sasuke's chin, patting the side of his head carefully, before he stood up, and walked out, closing the door a little behind him.

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes and curling up into a ball, a hand gripping his throat. Why did it hurt…? It hurt yesterday too. Maybe he got sick yesterday…He had felt weird all day after he blacked out. Sighing again, he slowly but surely, went to sleep.

Outside, Itachi leaned against the wall in the hall, running a hand down his face and neck, before he stood up, and walked back out into the kitchen, calling his work and school to call in a sick day, before he flopped onto the couch, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on, flipping through different channels.

He really had to find a way to get rid of these aftereffects…

* * *

Neji and Shikamaru looked around the school for a bit, before they went up to the roof where Naruto was, looking up at the clouds with an interest no one had ever seen on his face before. Shikamaru inwardly looked proud that his ways were rubbing off on the blonde, but outwardly he raised an eyebrow and coughed to get his attention. Naruto looked at them and cocked his head to the side.

"So, where's Sasuke today, guys?" He asked lightly a smile on his whiskered face. Neji looked sideways and Shikamaru shrugged. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's most likely sick today, Naruto. Wouldn't put it past him." Shikamaru said, sitting down on the ledge a little bit farther from Naruto, looking up at the clouds now, his look lazy but interested. Neji said down beside Hinata, who looked surprised to see him, but she smiled at her cousin nonetheless. Neji nodded back, crossing his legs Indian style on the ledge, his hands grabbing his ankles as he looked blankly at the ground.

"Why'd he have to be sick today…?" Naruto muttered, then shrugged and stood up, stretching his arms, before he grinned at them. "I hear that the remaining Oto Gang members wanna have a gang war from one of our informants there. It starts in two hours. Who wants to go?"

Neji, Shikamaru, and everyone else…

All grinned.

* * *

Leaning quietly against the wall of an alleyway, sighing quietly as he listened to the members of the group mutter to themselves, excluding him of course, but that's because he had no interest in what their plans were.

White hair that fell to his shoulders, and had a zigzag pattern as the part down the middle. He had red tattooed under each eye in a strange sort of shape, and two red dots on his forehead. On his chest was another tattoo, three squiggly lines right in the middle, but that was hidden from sight right now.

Quietly, Kimimaro opened his dark green eyes, looking up as he saw Kidoumaru, Ukon and Sakon, Jiroubo, and Tayuya all talking quietly with one another, Kin, Zaku and Dosu listening to them and nodding, putting in their two cents. The 15-year0old sighed and shook his head, looking out of the alleyway to the empty, abandoned street. This street had long ago been abandoned when a storm had completely destroyed the street, the houses and the stores around there. The government never bothered to fix it up, and the people who had lost their homes and jobs moved to a new part of the city. Now this street was used for gang fights daily, the gangs in the city all planning wars there, and meetings between allied gangs.

Kimimaro then looked over to see Sakon, Ukon and Tayuya looking at him with raised eyebrows. He smirked, and nodded to their silent question, pushing himself off of the wall and walking out of the alleyway to meet up with a particularly happy looking blonde in a black coat, waiting for him quietly.

"Naruto," Kimimaro greeted quietly. "Glad you could make it."

"Same here. Skipping school, but the object of my interest took a sick day." Naruto said, shrugging lightly. "So what are they planning in there?"

"They were planning surprise attack." Kimimaro said, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. "That plan was destroyed, though, now that you've come. Is everyone in the gang here?"

"Only those who go to my school and aren't spies of different gangs." Naruto shrugged one shoulder, looking back to see the people from the roof and the special members all talking to each other, Neji teaching Hinata some last minute defense moves while Shikamaru looked at some of his weapons of choice, and Gaara looked like he was meditating, trying to clear his head from the bloodlust that was inevitably in his mind screaming at him to take lives. Naruto turned back to Kimimaro. "Protect Tayuya and the twins, eh? Wouldn't want you guys dying now."

"Gaara's inner demon is awakening?"

"He hasn't fought for a while; he's a little excited." Naruto said, smirking slightly at the taller, though younger, boy. Kimimaro nodded as well, glancing back when he saw Tayuya jerking her head at him to come back into the alley.

"I'll see you at the next meeting with the spies, Naruto." Naruto nodded, and waved, watching Kimimaro walk out, and then turned to look at everyone else, crossing his arms.

"We outnumber them. Some of us are going to have to protect the weaker of the groups. Neji, protect Hinata," Neji nodded, looking at his cousin who smiled uneasily. "Everyone else…Choose the weaker you want to protect. I really don't give a shit." He said, then sighed and shrugged out of his jacket, throwing it to the side as he rolled his neck, cracking it, before he walked to them, smirking evilly while Gaara stood beside him, a small smirk on his face, his arms crossed. "Ready, Gaara?"

"Indeed."

* * *

He sat on the dusty floor quietly, tracing patterns on the cement with a pale, white finger. A small smirk appeared on his angular, pale face, harrow golden eyes looking on with a sick kind of glee. Purple lines were tattooed near his eyes, and his long black hair fell limply in front of the golden irises, falling down to about his mid back. He wore what all the inmates in this prison had to wear, which was bright orange jumpsuits, something that clashed HORRIBLY with his pale skin and thin physique. Looking over at his cellmate, he grinned a little to see the young man looking at him with wary, but interested dark eyes behind large circular glasses, his silver hair long and pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Orochimaru sighed slightly, as if he were bored, and stood up, flicking back some of his hair as he walked over to Kabuto, sitting next to him, and running his long fingers down the other's neck, before wrapping his fingers around Kabuto's neck lightly in a mock chokehold.

"Kabuto…Do you think our dear Anko…Has given that traitor Sasuke our message?" He asked, his voice much like a snake's. Kabuto shuddered at the contact the older man was giving him, before looking at him and smiling a little, to please his leader.

"Of course, she knows what you are like when messages aren't given to the person you want to hear them." He said his voice stronger than how he felt inside. Orochimaru laughed darkly, his tongue darting out to lick his lips as if they were dry, before he pulled back, climbing onto the top bunk of the bed, lying down and staring at the roof.

"Good."

* * *

Naruto looked at Kidoumaru with a raised eyebrow, cocking his head to the side before he snorted. "You're the new unofficial leader? I would've thought maybe Tayuya or Kimimaro, not a weakling like YOU."

"Kimimaro is too sick to do anything," Kidoumaru said, throwing a glare at the pale boy who coughed at that very moment, looking at the blood in his hand with a scowl. "And Tayuya's a girl."

"It would be an honour to fight Tayuya. I hear she's strong." Neji said from beside Naruto on his other side, slightly in front of the much smaller Hinata who looked at them with slight nerves, but she was used to the banter before battles. It was almost tradition for the Bijuu Gang to mock their opponents, no matter how strong they were.

Tayuya smirked from her spot next to Kidoumaru on his right, nodding at Neji. "The fucker has heard from good sources." She said her mouth a little foul for a lady such as herself. Her died pink hair fluttered down her back freely, a strand of hair in between her dark eyes, and she wore whites and purples, along with the rest of the gang in front of the Bijuu Gang. Jiroubo, a bigger boy about a year older than the 14-year-old girl looked at her disapprovingly. He had died orange hair that was in three different Mohawks.

"Tayuya, language…" he said warningly. Tayuya rolled her eyes and flipped him off, before she stuck her hip out, crossing her arms lazily as she held a bat in her left hand.

"When are we gonna fight them, Kidoumaru, you shit bag?" She asked, snapping some gum in her mouth. Temari smirked at the pink haired girl, waving a little secretly to her, and Tayuya smirked, nodding in response.

"Whenever they stop mocking us."

"Then we'll never start this war!" Ukon said, rolling his dark eyes, brushing his light purple hair from his face, though the strand stubbornly fell back. His twin, Ukon, had the same problem, though the strands were on the opposite side of his face.

"How about we start now?" Shikamaru said, before he punched Kidoumaru in the face, causing the spider-obsessed boy to stumble back. Tayuya pushed him back towards them, and Kidoumaru threw a kick at Shikamaru, only to have it blocked by Neji, who caught his ankle, and twisted it, before kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying back. Naruto smirked at them as he watched the gangs start to beat the crap out of each other, stepping back a little with Gaara as they waited for the precise moment target to attack to appear. Suddenly, Kimimaro appeared in front of them, and he smirked.

"Shall we have a friendly spar, Naruto?" He asked lightly.

"Nothing's a friendly spar with you, Kimimaro, but why not." Naruto said, shrugging with one shoulder, before he crouched down in an attack position way different than the one he had used on Sasuke the other day. Kimimaro held a hand, and summoned him over, and smirked as he saw Naruto disappear for a moment, before he felt a kick on his shoulder, pushing him around to receive a punch to the face.

Kimimaro retaliated by kneeing Naruto in the stomach, and blinked when Naruto grabbed his shoulder, before bashing his face in with his knee, throwing himself over the taller boy and landing on the wall, pushing himself off quickly and kicked him in the stomach. Kimimaro stumbled back, and the two continued to spar.

Ukon threw Kiba over his shoulder at the wall, walking over to Gaara as the red head stood there, his face hidden in the shadows that the walls created. He cocked his head to the side, blinking. "Someone's on a bloodlust. Shall I help you make it go away?" He asked, bowing slightly to the insane boy. Gaara raised his head, showing glowing green eyes, and he laughed quietly, before he stepped out lazily, and cocked his head.

"Think you can handle it?"

* * *

Sasuke woke up slowly, stilling feeling horrible, and sighed as he sat up, raising a hand to his head as it spun around, making the surrounding area a swirl of colours, before he shook his head, and everything straightened out. He looked over at the door, silently begging his brother to come in with food, and as if Itachi had heard his silent plea, the older brother came in with a tray of a bowl of rice and some crackers. "I hope your stomach can handle this. I'm using the BRAT method."

Sasuke nodded, familiar with this method. It was an acronym that his mother had used all the time. The letters stood for this:

B: Bananas

R: Rice

A: Apple Juice

T:…He could never remember.

The younger brother sighed as he took his rice and crackers, and ate them quietly, hoping his stomach wouldn't reject them. He had woken up about two hours ago, just to run to the bathroom to empty his revolting stomach, and Itachi had put a bucket beside his bed incase it happened again.

Itachi sat on the bed as he watched his brother, checking his fever again and frowning when it was still as high as it was when he first checked it, then checked his brother's eyes and skin colour. The same as before. He shook his head, and sighed. It always took a while for the effects to rub off…

"This happens a lot to me, doesn't it, Aniki?" Sasuke asked quietly as he ate a hand on his stomach to try and calm down the twisting feeling in there. He wouldn't be able to hold this in any longer than he did his dinner, that's for sure…

Itachi nodded a little, smiling a bit. 'It wouldn't happen so much, if you would stop remembering…' He thought, but instead he said, "I guess you're just prone to illness." Sasuke laughed lightly at that, eating quietly and shaking his head at his brother's answer, not knowing the inner workings of the older Uchiha's mind.

"I'm going to go back out. Call me if you need me." Itachi said, patting his brother's head as he stood up, and walked out. Sasuke watched him quietly, and then sighed.

'You were always so far away from me…Aniki…'

* * *

Gaara avoided the attack by Ukon, flipping backwards as Sakon tried to attack him, then rammed his pipe into the back of their skulls, kicking them away while he was still midair. He landed a few feet away as they rubbed theirs heads, narrowing their eyes at him at the same time in that twin fashion of theirs. He smirked and cocked his head to the side, silently asking if they wanted to continue, and Sakon ran at him, Ukon right after him.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was avoiding blows to the head by Tayuya, blocking her bat every once in a while with his jackknife, eyes narrowing as he pushed her back, before spreading his legs out to balance out better. "Is that the best you can do?"

"You shitting wish." She said, smirking as she rammed her bat onto the ground, lifting herself up and kicking him across the head. He bent over, allowing Temari to come at Tayuya with a large…Something bashing across the pink haired girl's head, causing Tayuya to gain a bloody wound on the side of her head, and most likely a black eye in the morning.

"Harsh."

"Thanks."

Naruto, meanwhile as well, flipped backwards as Kimimaro tried to hit him with a piece of wood he had found on the side of the street, kicking his leg up and kicking the offensive object out of his hands. He flipped up on his hand, and twisted, landing feet away from Kimimaro who panted slightly. He stood up just as Neji and Hinata landed a bit behind him. "Kidoumaru…?"

"Unconscious."

"Good boy." He said, smirking, before be ran at Kimimaro again. Hinata looked around, narrowed her eyes, and shoved her pain into the face of Zaku, who had tried to attack them, rolling her eyes a little.

"Neji-niisan…"

"You're doing fine, Hinata. Good work." She smiled and blushed lightly at the praise as they watched the fight, having no one to fight at the moment. Neji looked over at Gaara's fight with the twins, and narrowed his eyes. "Gaara…" He muttered quietly.

Gaara stood, smiling evilly, in between two unconscious, heavily bleeding bodies that were Sakon and Ukon, looking at the blood on his pipe with fascination, before he turned to look at Neji. He saw his narrowed eyes, and winced slightly, looking like a wounded animal just then. The Hyuuga shook his head slowly, closing his eyes as he sighed. "Hinata, we have to go calm Gaara." Hinata looked at him, then nodded quietly, following him silently as they walked to the red head, who looked at the bloodied bodies with slightly confused eyes.

"Come here, Gaara…" Hinata spoke quietly. Gaara looked up at the Hyuuga cousins, then walked over to them silently, feeling Hinata's arms wrap around him. His eyes instantly closed, and he fell into a meditative state. Neji picked up the boy then, and sighed, Hinata helping him put the red head onto his back.

"This should end soon…R-right?" Hinata asked, a stutter coming into her speech, showing that she was slowly going back to her shy, nervous self. Neji nodded, watching as Shikamaru and Temari beat down Tayuya, who was taking the beatings beautifully, before turning to look at Naruto, who was fighting Kimimaro still, Lee standing at the side, wanting to help but knowing it would be bad if he interrupted the Kyuubi's fight.

We wouldn't want that to happen.

* * *

Itachi watched the TV quietly, before he phone started to ring. He sighed, picking up the cell and flipping it open without even looking at the caller. "What is it, Kisame?"

He listened for a moment, before scowling and rolling his eyes. "My brother's sick, I can't go help and fight." He listened for another few minutes, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean…Augh, fine, I'm coming. Are you happy, you shit head?" He growled, before he flipped his phone shut, cutting off the line and conversation.

He stood up, quietly walking over to Sasuke's room. He peeked in, seeing the boy was sound asleep and there was nothing in the bucket he had placed, then sighed and walked into his room, opening his closet as he pulled out some clothes, taking a ring from the counter.

"I hate this job…"

* * *

Kin stood at the sidelines, cradling her head wound as she watched the battle between Naruto and Kimimaro, most likely two of the strongest people in the city. She sighed as she looked down the street, her eyes narrowing, wondering when they were going to get there…

Suddenly, she saw the black cloaked figures of the Akatsuki, and smirked.

"And here comes our help…"

* * *

Sasuke shifted in his bed, his eyes rolling behind the closed lids, his mouth opening slightly as he slowly started to awake from his…Dream…

More like a nightmare…

"_Mom!" 12-year-old Sasuke screamed, watching the flames dance around him dangerously. "Dad! Somebody!" _

_The doors to the barn burst open, and the figures of his mother and father ran towards him, soaking wet so that they wouldn't be hurt by the flames licking their skin around them. _

"_Sasuke!" His mother screamed, running towards him. She wrapped a fire blanket around him, picking him up into her strong arms and ran out as Sasuke's father kept the door open, making sure nothing fell on them. _

_They stood there for a moment, looking at each other, before a support beam fell down. Sasuke's mother threw him out of her arms, outside of the barn where his brother was, Itachi gathering the small bundle into his arms, and the beam fell onto the parents as the flames grew larger, engulfing the barn. _

"_MOM!" Sasuke screamed, his eyes wide as tears started to run down his cheeks. "DAD! NOO!" _

He bolted up, sweating and panting, a hand on his chest, before he started to cough, curling up into a ball and sweating, his fever growing stronger as he continued to cough and choke on the invisible smoke created by a past fire.

"Mom…" he whispered hoarsely between coughs. "Dad…" His eyes then rolled to the back of his head, and he fell back onto his bed, unconscious.


	5. He Has What?

A/N: Because my internet was not working when I wrote this, I may have lack of information and names in this chapter. I apologize for that. _(bows) _Anyhow, because I was late giving you the last chapter, and it was shorter than the other chapters, I'm giving you this chapter now, and it's two pages longer than normal, making a good 13 pages. Don't expect an update on Monday, though. You'll have your update on Wednesday next week, and then I'll get back to regular scheduale. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter! I hope I answer any questions you might have, and I hope that I did okay in the fighting. I can't write fighting scenes, sadly. Also, forgive me for the horrendus spelling errors of last chapter. (Could someone tell me how to spell horrendus? I'm guessing here...)

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Itachi pushed some of his dark hair from his face, his eyes a dark blood red as he narrowed them, looking at the fight that was going on in the abandoned street. Shaking his head, he looked to his left to see a taller boy, about 22 years old, standing beside him, his pale skin with a tinge of blue, and tattooed gills on his cheeks, his eyes a bright hazel, almost yellow looking, his short spiky hair dyed blue. Behind him were a few more people, all with distinct, different looks and distinct, different personalities. Itachi then rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles as he walked calmly towards the fight. "Kisame," he called, and the yellow eyed man beside him looked at him patiently. "You did bring my weapon, correct?"

"Of course, Itachi," Kisame muttered, pulling out a long sword from the folds of his black cloak, red clouds printed sporadically around it, the collar high and hiding his sharp toothed grin. Itachi took the handle of his weapon quietly, looking at the blade as if inspecting it, before he spun it in his hands lazily.

"You have yours as well…Correct?" Kisame nodded again, pulling out a long kitchen knife, most likely from the sushi bar that he worked at, and Itachi sighed, rolling his eyes. 'Fish out of water…' He thought, looking back at the blue haired man, before he looked back at the others. "Deidara,"

"Here, yeah," A blonde, female looking man said, some of his long blonde hair falling in front of his left eye, his eyes brown. The rest of his hair was in a high ponytail near the top of his head. He had small explosives in his hands, smoke bombs and the like.

"Sasori,"

"Here," A red haired man that looked much younger than the others, though he was around 22 years old, with dark brown eyes. He held a cord in his right hand, a blade dragging the ground from the cord.

The pattern of Itachi calling a name of a member continued until all eight members were called out. There had once been nine members…But that was a story for another day. Itachi then nodded, looking at the hooded member of the Akatsuki, looking at his red eyes quietly. "Leader, we're ready." Itachi said gently. The red eyed leader of Akatsuki nodded, a small smirk appearing invisibly on his shadowed face.

"Good."

* * *

Naruto rammed his elbow into the side of Kimimaro's head, watching as the white haired boy fell to the ground, unconscious, before he looked behind him, raising an eyebrow lazily, a small smirk on his face. "I knew there was more than that," he said lazily, sighing as he stretched out his sore muscles, rolling his neck. "Guys, we get to have some real fun now! It's Akatsuki."

Shikamaru looked back at the end of the road where the dark cloaked figures of Akatsuki walked towards them, smirking himself. "Always so uniformed," he said offhandedly, looking over at Temari who glared at the red headed member of the older gang as they walked towards them. "Right…Sasori's your cousin, isn't he?"

"Shut up, Shikamaru, before I make you shut up," Temari said, planting her large weapon onto the ground and leaning on it quietly as Kankuro rolled his neck, spinning two small knives in his hands. "You ready, Kankuro?"

"As ready as I ever am," Kankuro said lightly, looking at his blonde sister, before sighing and cracking his shoulders slowly. "You gonna open that thing?"

"Maybe," Temari said, smirking over at him before sighing. "Where's Gaara?"

"He's meditating; the Hyuugas are taking care of him." Temari nodded as she listened to the explanation, still watching the cloaked figures walking towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto start to walk towards them, raising an eyebrow as she saw some blood trickling down the side of his head.

"Naruto got hurt," she said, looking at her brown haired brother quietly. Kankuro nodded, still watching the approaching gang. A figure stepped out, walking towards the approaching Naruto, and he smirked.

"And there's Sharingan," he said softly. "Ready Desert?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Puppet."

Meanwhile, Lee looked up at the approaching gang with a small smile on his face, his large, round dark eyes burning with excitement and apprehension. "This is the first time I'll be fighting them…" He said softly, fisting his bandaged hands with excitement. "I cannot wait."

Tenten looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, spinning a staff in her left hand, gripping a small pocket knife in her other as she watched him started to hop up and down discreetly in excitement. She shook her head, smiling slightly as she looked at the Akatsuki. 'What would Gai think of you now, Lee?' She thought quietly.

Meanwhile, Naruto stopped in the middle of the battlefield, cocking his head to the side as Itachi walked up to him, stopping in front of him. "I thought you were third in the top three of Akatsuki," he commented lightly. Itachi shrugged lightly.

"I'm the most trustworthy," he replied easily. Naruto snorted.

"Yeah right," he muttered, before he stuck his hand. "Good, clean fight?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the red eyes man before him.

"How clean can gang fights be?"

* * *

Soft breathing…In…Out…In…Out…

He sighed, slowly opening his dark eyes as they faded from the red shade they had turned when he went unconscious, slowly sitting up as he held a hand to his head. He shook it a little to clear it, before he placed a hand on his mouth, bent over, and emptied the contents in his stomach into the bucket beside his head, closing his eyes briefly, before he sat up slowly, taking a wet cloth on his bedside table and wiping his mouth.

Sasuke sighed again as he put the cloth back onto his bedside table, getting out of his bed carefully to empty his bucket, sensing his brother wasn't in the house anymore. He walked quietly to the bathroom, dumping whatever was in it into the toilet, before he ran some water into it, rinsing it off. He emptied the bucket of any water, and walked back to his room, placing the bucket back beside his bed. But instead of crawling back into the bed like you would expect him to do, he walked back out of his room, slipping on his outdoor slippers and his jacket, grabbing a pair of keys from the wall, and walking out of the apartment quietly.

He walked down the hall to the end, opening the door to the stairs, and slowly walking up the stairs to the roof, unlocking the door and opening it, stepping out into the cold, windy afternoon. He closed the metal door with difficulty, before walking over to the edge, a metal railing around to make sure no one fell off. He leaned against the metal railing, looking down at the busy streets quietly, a small smile on his face.

Maybe city life wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Sakura slid back as she landed on the ground, glaring at her opponent with narrowed green eyes, before she ran at him again, kicking at Sasori's head. He ducked, like she predicted, and she kneed him with her other leg, hard, causing his head to snap back. She jumped out of the way just as Hinata came; ramming her palm onto his chin, forcing him to fly back, and the two girls looked at each other, before they nodded, and Hinata ran over to where her cousin was fighting Kisame with Lee, helping them while Sakura continued to fight Sasori.

"Red Desert Sasori," Sakura said as the red head slowly sat back up, rubbing his chin painfully. "Hell hath no vengeance like a woman scorned." Sasori winced, looking up at the pink haired girl, just in time to see her fist, and his head was slammed back onto the cement, knocking him out cold. Sakura nodded, flexing her arm, and smirked, before she ran to help someone else.

Gaara, who had awakened before the fight had even begun, looked at Deidara with carefully blank eyes, a small frown on his lips as the blonde stood in front of him, tossing up a small bomb every once in a while. "Are bombs usually used in gangs?" He asked quietly. Deidara shrugged.

"I don't know, yeah." He said, pushing back some of the hair in his face. "Is it normal for someone to have a mechanical eye, yeah?"

"Do you purposely say 'yeah' at the end of each sentence, or do you just want to drive us insane?" Temari snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Both, yeah," Kankuro snickered as Temari narrowed her green eyes dangerously, slowly sliding open her large weapon, showing that it was actually a FAN. Why a large fan? Don't question Temari, that's all that has to be said.

"Don't piss me off." She growled dangerously. Gaara looked at her quietly, before he spun his metal pipe in his hand once, and Kankuro tightened his grip on his weapons. Deidara smirked at them, and raised his free hand, summoning them over much like Kimimaro had summoned Naruto when they had fought. Temari lifted her fan in one hand, and nodded to her younger siblings, before they all ran at him.

Naruto ducked Itachi's blade, kicking his wrist to make him drop the weapon, before he lifted himself into the air by pushing himself up by his hands. Itachi grabbed one of his ankles, and spun him around, throwing him at the wall. Naruto landed on the wall, looking up at him, before he pushed himself off towards him, ramming his fist into his face. He flipped off of the Uchiha's shoulders, landed a few feet behind him. Itachi spun around, narrowing his eyes dangerously, and Naruto carefully avoided them, looking at his feet instead.

"Why won't you let Sasuke join us, eh Itachi?" He asked ducking as Itachi tried to kick at him, sliding between his legs, before he threw himself onto his legs, and bent backwards, avoiding another kick, flipping off of his hands and kicking Itachi in the face, making the older boy skid back slightly. Naruto spun on his hand, and landed back onto his feet, his fists raised in a defensive pose, letting Itachi try to get some hits onto him. "He was once in the Oto Gang."

"I know that," Itachi growled, grabbing Naruto's wrist and slamming the heel of his palm onto the blonde's forehead, making Naruto go cross eyed before shaking his hand, and avoided being kneed, ripping his wrist out of Itachi's grasp. "Sasuke has lived a hard enough life already; I don't need him going into a gang."

"I still don't understand what that means." Naruto said, jumping up and doing the splits to avoid an attack Itachi threw at him, spinning around quickly and kicking Itachi in the face, landing with his back to his opponent, ducking as Itachi tried to kick him again. "He can't remember anything before he was twelve, I don't understand what the hell happened in his past, and he doesn't even remember being in a gang. What happens when he remembers, Itachi?"

"Something I don't want to happen to my otouto." Itachi growled, spinning Naruto around and punching him in the face, hard, causing the blonde to fly back and hit the wall. There was the loud sound of bone hitting brick as Naruto's skull bashed against the brick wall, a small trail of blood leaking down from his head. His blue eyes glazed over as he looked up at Itachi standing over him, slowly loosing consciousness.

"Don't push my patience with you, Uzumaki. What I do with my family is my business, so butt out." He said, watching as the blonde fell unconscious. He then turned to look at everyone who had frozen in their fighting, eyes wide.

"He's out, this battle is over." Itachi said, walking away as he picked up his sword from where he had dropped it, tossing it back to Kisame who put it back into his cloak and nodded. As Itachi walked past Gaara, he bent down to whisper, "Make sure to keep Kyuubi out of my personal files." Gaara looked at him, before he nodded, and watched as Akatsuki gathered together and left.

* * *

Sasuke had returned to the apartment a little while later, and he was quietly playing video games in his room on his TV, yawning once in a while and every two hours he'd bend down and empty his already emptied stomach into the bucket, getting up to clean it up after pausing his game. He would then return, and the same routine would go on.

His head turned to his door as he heard the apartment door open and then close, listening as his brother walked to his room. He heard the rustle of clothes, and then went back to his game as Itachi walked into his room, looking at him quietly.

"How are you feeling?" Itachi asked, placing a hand over his forehead, only to recoil at the feeling of Sasuke's heated, sweating skin.

"As bad as ever, but I throw up every two hours, so I can't go to sleep for fear of barfing on my sheets." Sasuke muttered, looking at the screen with his dilated eyes, wiping sweat off of his upper lip in silence before he continued. "Where'd you go?"

"Out," Itachi replied, sitting on the bed and watching him play the game. "You're mind is going to rot if you continue playing these games." He saw Sasuke smirk and shrug one shoulder, before he killed whatever enemy he had been fighting. Sasuke then looked over at his brother, and his eyes widened.

"You're bleeding…" He muttered, raising a hand and touching a spot near Itachi's temple that was slowly leaking out blood. Itachi winced slightly, looking at him, before he shrugged.

"I got mugged." He said quietly. Sasuke's eyes widened, and Itachi smirked. "I beat the guy up, don't worry. I'm fine and nothing was stolen off of my person." His little brother sighed in relief, and Itachi smirked, before standing up. "I'm going to make you something light to eat, alright?" He said, ruffling up Sasuke's dark hair before he walked out. Sasuke watched him quietly, before he went back to playing his game.

* * *

He felt something cool on his forehead, and slowly opened his dark blue eyes, looking around before his eyes narrowed and he burst up, snarling. Hinata jumped up, looking at Naruto in fear, her pale eyes widening as she saw his pupils slit into cat slits, the dark blue of his eyes slowly bleeding a blood red, much like Sharingan Itachi's eyes. Naruto's eyes snapped to her, and they widened, before they turned back to normal, and he fell back onto the bed, wincing as he fell on his head wound.

"Gah…Sorry, Hinata…" He muttered, placing a hand on his forehead carefully, closing his eyes. "Man, he hit me hard…" he muttered, shaking his head, before he looked at Hinata who still stood there, looking frightened. "Do your job, Hinata." He mumbled, and the Hyuuga nodded, walking over to him as she started to treat his wounds.

"How are the others?" He asked a little while later, sitting up so that Hinata could clean the blood out of his blonde hair, wrapping some gauze around his head carefully.

"Lee is unconscious with a fractured leg, and Kiba has lacerations all over his body. Shikamaru broke his finger but nothing serious, and Neji-niisan was stabbed in the shoulder and in the side, but he should be fine." She spoke softly, though without a stutter because she was in her element; healing. "You most likely had some of the worst wounds, having fought both Kimimaro and Sharingan Itachi." She said, stepping back and looking over him quietly, looking at the various bandages and scrapes he now had on his bare torso, his head wrapped with gauze carefully.

"And you, Hinata?" Naruto asked, looking over at her. She smiled a little shyly, placing a hand on her head.

"A bump on the head but nothing serious," she said gently, then sighed and looked around at the other beds that were in the building they were all resting in.

"Where are we?"

"We're in an old abandoned hospital. Their supplies and beds were still here, so it was the best place to go at the time." She said, looking at him. "Sakon, Ukon, Tayuya and Kimimaro are here as well. It seems that the Oto Gang left them behind once the Akatsuki had come, dragging Kidoumaru with them."

"That would only leave Kidoumaru and Jiroubo in that gang. Why'd they leave them behind?"

"Too wounded." Hinata replied smartly, before she sighed and nodded to him. "I'm going to check on some of the others now, Naruto." She said, smiling a little at him, before she walked away. Naruto sighed, rolling his eyes as he pressed the spot between his eyes with his index and middle fingers.

"Headache?" Shikamaru asked lightly, walking over to him, showing that he had a splint on his right index finger. "I guess that happens when you're about to switch to a multiple personality, eh?"

"Guess so."

* * *

The next day, Sasuke woke up with his alarm clock feeling better than he had the other day. He sighed, stretching his arms above his head and got up, seeing that his bucket was already gone. He smirked a little, shaking his head, before shutting his alarm clock off, going over to his drawers to pull out the clothes he would wear that day.

He took out a black turtle neck, and then grabbed a pair of black jeans from his closet, grabbing some white socks and a clean pair of boxers, before he walked to his bathroom silently, turning to shower on.

He scrubbed at his hair quietly, closing his eyes as he sighed gently, the feeling of the hot water on his skin soothing. While he was scrubbing in some shampoo into his hair, he thought about some of the people he had met at the school, because he hadn't really thought about them before and what else was he supposed to do while in the shower? Sing? Yeah, right.

First there was Neji Hyuuga, the kid that seemed to find amusement in his mental pain, especially during drama. He seemed smart enough, and strong enough, while he was always on his cell phone, talking to this person or that person, yet never telling Sasuke who it was, not that the Uchiha really cared, but still.

Then there was Shikamaru Nara, extremely lazy, liked looking at the clouds, and always disappeared for one lame reason or the other. Kind of suspicious, but Sasuke once again, didn't care.

Chouji Akimichi, the guy who liked to eat, and most undoubtedly Shikamaru's best friend. Chouji had started to disappear at lunch time, though Sasuke as usual didn't care, but still. It was odd for the larger boy to disappear during lunch of all times.

And then, finally, there was Naruto Uzumaki, the guy who liked to make his life a living hell. A gang leader, and feared and respected throughout the entire school, he just grated on Sasuke's nerves. First of all, he had the NERVE to go easy on the Uchiha, which was just a blow to his pride, and then he had the nerve to try and talk him into joining his gang? Yeah, right. Like he would be an idiot and join a gang.

But still…Thoughts of the blonde had been plaguing the dark haired boy for quite some time ever since he has first met him, and he couldn't understand why, either. Most nights, he would have dreams…Strange, strange dreams…

That he wasn't about to go into detail about, wanting to forget about these strange dreams of his.

Silently, he rinsed out the conditioner in his hair, and turned to shower off, stepping out and grabbing his towels, wrapping one around his waist as he toweled his hair dry, wiping off any water on his skin before he started to get dressed.

'Wonder what I missed yesterday…' He thought, sighing as he got out of his room, walking to the kitchen to eat his breakfast.

* * *

Shikamaru was leaning against the side of the school, looking out into the crowd when he spotted a familiar dark boy walking towards him. He smirked, raising a hand lazily and Sasuke nodded, walking over to him.

"What did I miss yesterday?"

"No idea, I skipped." Shikamaru replied truthfully, but not delving in deeper into the topic. Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, before he looked around.

"Where are the others?" He asked lightly, not really caring but curious all the same. Shikamaru shrugged, not knowing where they were either and Sasuke shook his head. "You know nothing." He muttered, rolling his eyes, before he walked inside, planning on going to the caf to sit on the stage and listen to his music.

Shikamaru watched him walk inside, before he pushed himself off of the wall, going up the fire escape stairs up onto the roof and walking over to Naruto who was talking with Neji and Chouji, who looked excited to be sitting on the roof in the first place. "He's here today." The Nara boy said, looking at the blonde as he waited for a reaction. Naruto froze, before he grinned, and turned to look at Shikamaru, nodding.

"Good to hear."

* * *

Sasuke was listening to his music quietly to himself, his eyes closed as he sighed, drowning out the noise of the cafeteria with his angry music, his hand absentmindedly tapping against his knee. He felt a presence sit beside him, and stopped his CD player, pulling out his headphones as he opened his eyes and looked over to see Naruto sitting there, sitting Indian style with his hands gripping his ankles lightly, grinning at him. "What do you want, dobe?"

"I wanted to see how my favourite boy is doing today." Naruto replied, looking at him with a lazy look. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, then saw the bandages around his head and blinked. Naruto saw him staring at his forehead, and touched it, feeling the gauze. "Ah, right…Got into a bit of a fight yesterday." He said, shrugging lightly. "It happens in gangs, you know."

"Exactly why I won't join yours so don't even bother asking me." Sasuke asked, turning away from the blonde as he got ready to put his headphones back into his ears and listen to his music again. He felt a hand grab his wrist, and turned his head slightly, glaring at Naruto from the corner of his eyes, a small scowl on his face. "What do you really want, Uzumaki?"

"You interest me, Uchiha." Naruto said, and Sasuke rolled his eyes, about to say he had already told him that. "And not only by your attitude and everything. You're a mysterious guy, you know? I want to learn more about ya."

"You never will." Sasuke snarled. Just then, the bell rang, and Sasuke ripped his wrist out of Naruto's grasp, hopping off of the stage, and walking briskly to English. Naruto watched him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I will though, Sasuke…Indeed I will…"

* * *

Kakashi walked around the class, placing the papers that they had written their most interesting dream on, this time with marks on them and spelling corrections. Sasuke took his, flipping through it, before he looked at the mark on the top.

'100 percent…Thought so,' he thought, shaking his head as he read the comment, _Gai has that effect on people, doesn't he? Good description on the dream, I hope it doesn't haunt you anymore. _The Uchiha snorted, stuffing the paper into his binder and taking out his pen as Kakashi then started to hand out work sheets.

"Read the story on page 98 in your text book, and answer these questions. We'll take them up at the end of class." Kakashi said, looking at them all, before his eye landed on Sasuke, who had started to immediately answer. His eye narrowed slightly as he saw that Sasuke hadn't even touched the book.

'What's he doing…? How does he know the answers already?' He blinked when Sasuke handed the paper to him, glaring at him, and Kakashi took it quietly, going to his desk to mark it.

He took out the answer sheet and prepared the mark down everything when he faltered, his eye narrowing again. 'This…This is…' He looked at the answer sheet, then right back at the worksheet he had just handed in.

'This is exactly the same…'

* * *

"Sasuke, can I see you at the end of class?" Kakashi asked quietly, placing his worksheet onto his desk. All the answers were correct and he had once again gotten 100 percent. He looked at him with interested and confused eyes, before he shrugged lightly and nodded, taking out a novel that he could read during this class, and quietly read it while everyone else struggled to answer.

Neji looked up from his seat behind Sasuke, raising an eyebrow at him, before he continued to answer the question after having read the short story. 'I wonder what Kakashi wants…'

The bell rang, and everyone but Sasuke and Kakashi got up. Neji stopped right outside of the door, letting other students pass by him, then listened into the quiet classroom as Kakashi got up and started to pace like he usually did when he had to talk to a student after class.

"Sasuke, you didn't even pick up the text book, did you?" Kakashi asked after a few minutes. Neji blinked, his eyebrows furrowing as he listened, pressing himself against the wall carefully.

"No, I didn't Kakashi," Sasuke replied curtly, and Neji could just imagine him with his now trademark glare.

"Why not, Sasuke? How could you know the answers without even touching the textbook?"

"I don't know, Kakashi. Maybe the questions were predictable." Sasuke replied. Kakashi sighed, shaking his head, though Neji didn't see, and looked at the Uchiha.

"I think its photographic memory."

Neji's eyes widened and he removed himself from the wall, hurriedly walking down the halls. He had to tell Naruto this new information…

* * *

Sasuke quietly walked to gym class, ignoring Gaara's stares once again as he changed, before he left the change room and walked out, immediately finding Sakura and standing near her. The pink haired girl looked over at him, and smiled, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened to your lip?"

Sakura blinked, touching the bandage on her lip, remembering when someone had punched her yesterday, busting her lip, before she shrugged a little, and smiling again. "I hit a door and my lip broke nothing too serious." She said, shrugging lightly. The Uchiha nodded, and she sighed, looking around, before she looked over at Ino, who raised an eyebrow at her. Sakura shrugged, her eyes telling her she didn't know what to say to him, and the blonde sighed, rolling her eyes and looking over at the door where Anko walked in.

"Alright! First sport we're gonna play this semester is volleyball! Who knows how to play?" A few hands rose, including Sakura and Sasuke's, and Anko looked over at them, before she pointed at Sasuke. "Uchiha, come up here."

Sasuke sighed, walking up to the front and looking at her, his hips tilted outward in his trademark pose, as if he were trying to stay away from everyone. His hands werein his pockets, and his shoulders were slightly hunched up, as if covering something on his shoulders. How he hated low collar shirts…Though he didn't know why.

Anko threw the volleyball at him, and Sasuke immediately pulled his hands out, placing his hands above him as he volleyed the ball away from him, hitting back to Anko. Anko then hit it back at him, making him step back a few paces and bump the ball away from him. Anko then hit the ball one more time, and Sasuke jumped up, spiking the ball hard on the ground, landing back onto the floor neatly, his hands going back into his pockets and he once again stood in his trademark pose.

"Good job, Uchiha." She said, and then turned to everyone else in the unisex classroom. "What Uchiha just demonstrated were three main moves in volleyball: volleying, bumping and spiking. We'll be learning volleying first. Everyone get into groups of four or six, and practice volleying. If you don't know how to stand, ask someone in your group that would know, or Uchiha, even if he's busy scowling at the world." She said, winking at Sasuke, who just rolled his eyes.

He blinked as he saw half of the girls in the class surround him, and sighed, rolling his eyes heavenward.

He really hated this class.

* * *

While getting changed again after gym, Sasuke stood in front of the mirror, rubbing his shoulders. He had been tackled so many times that period by girls who still didn't understand the basics of the stance for volleying, and he now hurt, his muscles sore. He sighed, rubbing his left shoulder, then blinked, seeing something dark on his pale skin. He turned slightly, looking over his shoulder to see something he had never seen before.

It was a black tattoo, stark on his skin like red blood on virgin snow. The tattoo was shaped like three commas in a circle. He touched it quietly, tracing the pattern, before turning to see Gaara standing next to him, looking at the tattoo in the mirror.

"Does Uchiha know what that is?" He asked quietly. Sasuke looked at him, before he shook his head, and Gaara smirked a little, looking over at the real Sasuke instead of his reflection, nodding quietly. "You'll find out." He then waved and walked out of the room, leaving Sasuke to ponder what the red head had meant, pulling on his clothes in silence.

* * *

Sasuke met up with Neji and Shikamaru outside of the Drama room, and Sasuke braced himself, stepping into the room just as Gai made his dramatic appearance, smiling and posing in his strange way of his. The Uchiha shuddered. God…

"Welcome to day three of this class! Today we're going to start on a larger project, which is you're going to write a play on whatever you want in a group of four to six people, and you're going to present the play in two weeks! I'll give you free periods to work on this play for these two weeks, but you must also work on this at home!" He said, clapping his hands and rubbing them in excitement. "Now! GET INTO YOUR GROUPS AND MAKE ME A PROUD TEACHER!"

Sasuke sighed as he stood up, getting into a group with Shikamaru, Neji and Tenten, and they all went to the corner of the room, Tenten pulling out a pen and a notebook, showing that she knew that this would be happening that day.

"I'll write, since I most likely have the neatest writing in the group." She said, looking at them all with eyes that dared them to question her authority. When no one did, she smiled and nodded, and started to write down the groups' names, then looked at them.

"What should the play be about?" She asked, looking at them all. She noticed Sasuke staring at her with a raised eyebrow at her own eyebrow, and laughed nervously, the fact being that she had a bandage on her eyebrow because it had been bleeding yesterday after the fight. "Ignore that." She said, then sighed and looked at the other two. "Well?"

"What about a play about the inner workings of an insomniac? It's creative, original, and Gai would have a field day watching it." Shikamaru suggested, looking at the others. Tenten wrote it down when no one objected, then asked for any other ideas. This routine continued until they had about five ideas. In the end, they chose the insomniac idea, seeing as three out of the four of them could actually talk to an insomniac and his family freely without having to worry about their physical health.

* * *

Lunch time, and Sasuke was being dragged up onto the roof of the school where Naruto was waiting for him, a small smirk on his face as he saw Neji and Shikamaru physically drag the Uchiha up the iron steps of the fire escape. "Glad you could come." Naruto said, laughing inwardly at Sasuke's deadly glare. The blonde stood up, walking over to him while the two that had brought him up stepped away, watching with the rest of the people on the roof. "Why do you look ready to kill me?"

"Because I am." Sasuke spat out at him, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Naruto held a hand up, making a 'tsk' sound, shaking his head. "What?"

"No need to be violent. I just want to see something." He said, placing a hand on Sasuke's neck quietly. Sasuke went rigid, his eyes widening as he felt two fingers go down the turtle neck, and pull it down, blue eyes looking at his left shoulder questionably.

"The tattoo…" He heard Naruto mutter, before lifting his hand, and placing his index finger under Sasuke's chin, making the boy look up. "Why are you so stiff?"

Sasuke looked up into his blue eyes…But he wasn't seeing blue eyes…

He was seeing golden eyes.

"Let…GO OF ME!" Sasuke shouted, jerking his head out of Naruto's grip and kicking him under the legs, making the blonde tumble to the ground. Sasuke then ran to the ledge and jumped off, rolling on the ground when he landed and running away.

Neji and Shikamaru went to the edge to see Sasuke running into the school, and both swore, glancing back at Naruto who blinked in confusion. He raised his head up to the clouded sky, and then smirked.

"He's remembering."

* * *

Sasuke walked into the apartment quietly, closing the door and locking it, before he dropped his backpack by the door and walked to the TV, going onto it upside down like he always did and grabbed the remote, turning it on. It was on the news that Itachi had left it on before, and he sighed, deciding to watch it quietly.

_Orochimaru, who was the leader of the once pronounce and fairly dangerous gang Oto, is now out of prison, having fulfilled his five year sentence, along with his accomplice Kabuto. They are now roaming down freely on the streets, though are supposed to be no threat to the society. In other news…_

Sasuke flipped the TV off, recognizing the name…Orochimaru…

_Orochimaru's still pissed off…_

The words that Anko had told him the other day hit him like a ton of bricks, and he rolled up straight onto the couch, looking out the window.

'A criminal…Is pissed at me…' He thought, then sighed and closed his eyes, falling back against the bed.

'Crap.'


	6. Breaking Sasuke Down

A/N: Alrighty! So here's the sixth chapter. I know I said I wouldn't update today, but I HAD TO, alright? I just...I had to. Anyhow, mind you, I'm a cruel person to my characters. Especially when it comes to people like Sasuke and Naruto! You won't know why I'm cruel to Naruto just yet, but you're getting a glimpse why I'm a HORRIBLE PERSON to Sasuke! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_He sat quietly on a flipped trashcan, looking at the wall in front of him blankly as he heard that sick freak talking to the other people in the old recreation building, sighing quietly to himself. Why did they have these meetings? It was so utterly **pointless **and Sasuke hated them with a passion hotter than **1000 suns**. _

_But Orochimaru said that they were necessary, just to make sure they still had trustworthy and loyal members in the gang. It made sense, and Sasuke knew it had to be done, but still…He was allowed to be annoyed, wasn't he? _

"_Last thing that we'll discuss," Orochimaru's snake-like voice was heard, slithering into Sasuke's ears and making the young boy shudder a little. The ten-year-old looked up at the pale man, his golden eyes staring him down with a small smirk on his narrow face, before he turned back to the other members listening quietly. "A name. What's our gang's name? We may have been a gang for a long while now, but we've never had a proper name now, have we?" He asked, walking along in front of the row of young boys and a girl scattered here and there, looking up at him with confusion evident in their eyes. _

"_Sasuke, do you have a suggestion?" Orochimaru turned his head to the young boy, and Sasuke looked up at him, raising an eyebrow before he shrugged lightly, looking away from him to the side. _

"_Since you like the sound of your own voice, Orochimaru," he started off, knowing he was being disrespectful, but he didn't care; he got away with a lot of things. "What about 'Oto'? It means 'Sound' in Japanese." Orochimaru stopped for a moment, thinking over what the Uchiha boy had suggested, seemingly not even noticing that his young 'apprentice' had insulted him bluntly, before he smirked, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. _

"_I like it…" He said, turning to look at the other members, all looking at him with some awe. "We're now known as the Oto Gang. Shall we make our name known to the city?" _

Sasuke sat up slowly, his eyes opening quietly as he placed a hand on his forehead, sweating a little from the strange dream. Oto…Orochimaru…Gang…What did these all mean?

He turned to look at his clock, and sighed, seeing that he had woken up two hours earlier than his alarm clock was set for. Shaking his head, he turned it off before it could go off and bother him in two hours, and got up to grab a shower, sighing again as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

He'd figure out his dream later.

* * *

Itachi blinked, looking down the hallway two hours later a little worriedly, not hearing the familiar shrill of Sasuke's alarm clock, nor the familiar groaning of his half dead little brother. He got up from the table and was about to check on him when he saw the door open, and Sasuke walked out, dressed in a dark blue turtle neck and black jeans with one or two chains on them, his white socks making soft _'thump' _noises on the carpet, then on the hardwood on the floor.

"Did you not set your alarm clock last night?" Itachi asked, putting down a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Sasuke, putting milk instead of juice beside his plate and sitting down, raising an eyebrow in question. Sasuke glanced at him, before he shrugged, and began to eat his breakfast.

"A dream woke me up two hours earlier than I usually do. I've been sitting in my room for a while now, ready. Just waiting for you to get up." Itachi's other eyebrow raised at that, and the Akatsuki member smirked a little, narrowing his eyes playfully.

"And you didn't consider making your own breakfast? Otouto, I feel used!"

"I can't cook; I'd burn the apartment to the ground." Sasuke said, looking at his brother with a deadpan look. Itachi blinked, not expecting that reaction from him, but shrugged all the same. He had woken up two hours early…He was probably cranky.

"Yeah, I guess you're right; you're _useless _without me!" He ducked as a piece of bacon was thrown at him, catching it before it fell on the floor and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing happily. "Thank you!"

"Stupid Aniki…"

"Hey!"

* * *

Naruto stretched his arms out over his head, yawning largely, before looking over at Kakashi, who rolled his eyes at him and smirked, pulling on his customary mask and blue bandage on their correct places on his face, picking up his lesson plan, before he looked at the blonde boy who was dressed in dark blue jeans and an orange long sleeved shirt, his feet already in his black combat boots as he pulled on a pair of gloves. "Planning on fighting today?"

"Nah, these just make me look cool," Naruto said, grinning cheekily at his guardian, before he sighed and cracked his neck, seeing Kakashi wince. "You should be used to that by now, Kakashi!"

"One would think," Kakashi drawled, rolling his only visible eye, before he sighed and shook his head. "I'm going over to the school early, I'll see you later?"

"You mean you're going to school on time, and yeah, I'll see you in a bit. I'm just gonna go visit the others, eh? I haven't seen them in a while." Kakashi looked at him quietly, before he nodded.

"Say hi to them for me, would ya?" The silver haired English teacher asked, ruffling up Naruto's already messy blonde hair, before he waved and walked out of their house. Naruto listened to the car engine, and then Kakashi driving away, before he sighed, and walked out the backdoor, walking through a large hole in their back fence that was just big enough for him to crawl through with his backpack. Looking around the back alleyway he just crawled into, he clambered onto his feet and ran down the alleyways, turning sharp corners here and there, before he skidded to a halt, and panted, placing a hand on his chest as he looked into an empty lot with one thing standing in the middle. He sighed, smiling a little, and slowly walked towards it, rummaging for something in his bag.

He dropped his back from the object after he grabbed whatever he was looking for, before he bent down and placed a single, slightly crushed, rose onto the platform in front of him, smiling as he kneeled down onto his knees, running a hand over the smooth, dark obsidian. Carved and coloured with white were a few names, though Naruto was looking at two specific names.

Kakashi and he had paid for this little monument years ago, when the people that had first formed Bijuu with Naruto had died. Naruto sighed as he leaned his forehead against the cool stone, his eyes closing.

"Hey Rin, Obito…" he mumbled silently. "Thought I'd come visit you guys, give my respects and all that crap. Did you know that Kakashi quit the gang? Bastard…But I'm letting it slide since he does feed me and all…" He smiled a little, pulling back as he looked at the stone. "He says 'Hi' by the way. Anyhow, you guys better be happy wherever the hell you are, and say 'Hi' to the others with you, okay?" He then sighed, and stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, before he turned and walked calmly out of the lot, before running down the street again, heading to Konoha High.

* * *

Sasuke sighed quietly as he sat through English, reading his book to entertain himself. He looked up as Kakashi placed a worksheet in front of him, looking down at him with his dark eye, before he walked off, going back to his desk to read his little orange book. Sasuke sighed, putting a mark in his page and setting his book down, grabbing a pencil. He looked at the questions for a moment, before he started to answer them quietly.

He remembered yesterday's conversation with the English teacher well…And it still bothered him to no end. What the hell was that man talking about…?

"_I think its photographic memory." _

_The Uchiha blinked, looking up at the silver haired teacher, confusion evident in his eyes. "And why do you suspect that?" He asked lightly though, his voice not betraying any of his emotions that were roiling inside of him now. Photographic memory? Since when?_

"_Sasuke, the answers are the **exact same**. It's as if you had the sheet right next to you. Do you?" Sasuke shook his head, showing his clearly empty desk. Kakashi sighed, then ran a hand down his cloth covered face, looking at him. "Do you not have photographic memory? You would've learned if you did as a child." _

"_I don't remember my childhood. So I guess I don't know if I have photographic memory or not. Might I leave now?" Kakashi looked at him for a long time, before he sighed and nodded, waving him out. Sasuke stood up, grabbing his bag, and left quietly, thinking over what Kakashi had just said. _

'_Photographic memory…?' _

He sighed, shaking his head, and pushed the worksheet away from him, having finished. Once again he picked up his book, reading through it quietly as Kakashi walked over to him, collecting the sheet to go collect it. Sasuke turned his head a little to the left, looking over at Neji who had just finished the worksheet they had been assigned at the beginning of class. The Hyuuga sighed, pushing the sheet to the corner of his desk, and pulled out his cell phone, which was on buzz, muted so he wouldn't get in trouble, and started to check if he had any messages.

The Uchiha sighed again, going back to his book, not noticing Neji looking over at him for a moment briefly, before typing something into his cell phone, sending it to the receiver he meant to read it.

* * *

_Sasuke stared up into the pale face of Orochimaru as the last of the Oto gang left the meeting spot, watching as the much older man slowly walked towards him, a small smirk on his face. _

"_You weren't listening to what I was saying again, my dear Sasuke," he said, his voice like a hiss as he stopped right in front of the eleven-year-old, kneeling down so that he was level with the boy. "You never do, though…Why is that?" _

"_An act of defiance." Sasuke muttered, glaring at him darkly. Orochimaru laughed, placing a hand on the boy's knee as he still sat on his flipped over trashcan. It was his unofficially seat. "You're doing it again. We had a deal, Orochimaru, or have you **forgotten**?" _

_The snake-like man just chuckled, his hand sliding up the younger boy's thigh as he leaned a bit towards him, his face just inches away from Sasuke's own, looking at the young boy straight in the eye with his smoldering golden eyes. Sasuke snarled, and Orochimaru one again chuckled. "I'm sorry, dear Sasuke…You're just too…Tempting…For your own good." He said, licking his lips slightly, his eyes flashing a dangerous gleam. "Being disobedient…Makes me want to punish you…" _

"_And then I'll call the police and turn you in for sexual assault and attempted rape." Sasuke hissed, glaring at him. "Let go of me, you fucking pervert." _

"_Such a dirty mouth! Should I clean it with soap?" Orochimaru asked, leaning in even closer, their noses touching slightly. Sasuke grabbed Orochimaru's wrist, squeezing it, before he twisted it, making the pale man hiss and rip his hand out of the younger boy's grip, stumbling back away from the Uchiha. "A strong grip; I should have expected some resistance." _

"_Don't make me regret the fact that I'm here, Orochimaru." Sasuke said, jumping off of his trashcan and brushing off his pants, glaring at him. "And don't forget…You may have the power over a gang, but I have the power over YOU." He then waved, and walked out of the building, stuffing his hands in his pockets…_

"Sasuke…Sasuke…Sasuke, wake up! You TOOK my JOB!" Sasuke started, looking around, before he looked to see Shikamaru scowling at him. "It is my job to sleep during class."

"Did I actually fall asleep during Drama…?" Sasuke asked, looking around to see Gai at his desk, smiling and stamping different sheets with an 'A PLUS!' stamp. He knew he'd pass this class with flying colours now… "How did I not end up with a nightmare…? Oh, wait, never mind…What I just had can be considered a nightmare." He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head, before looking up to see Tenten, Neji and Shikamaru all staring at him worriedly. "What? Come on, don't we have a script to write?"

"Why'd you fall asleep?" Tenten asked as she continued to write down some of the lines for the script, Neji or Shikamaru looking over and complaining about a line or two, making her have to scratch them out and rewrite to their liking.

"I didn't have a very peaceful sleep last night…" He muttered, looking over the lines himself. "What the hell is that line?" Tenten glared at him, before she sighed, scratching it out as well and rewrite it.

"That better, Highness?" She muttered, glaring at him. Sasuke read it again, before he nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

Orochimaru smoothed out his shirt quietly, smiling as he put on his necklace, snake fangs on the black string, hanging down on his chest comfortably. He sighed, flipping his black hair over his shoulder again, before looking over at Kabuto, who pushed up his glasses, the light flashing off of the lenses as he wore what he had been wearing before they had been put into jail. The clothes, of course, had been cleaned before they were given them. The snake-like man then smirked, waving for Kabuto to follow him.

"Let's go find our little boys, shall we?" He said, looking back at him.

"We have females too, sir." Kabuto said, looking into the older man's golden eyes with a small frown. "And I don't believe they are little anymore either, sir." Orochimaru rose an eyebrow at him, before he smiled and nodded, looking at the sky as they walked into the city quietly.

"Of course…"

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, before he sighed and finished the last question on his Math test, shoving the paper to the corner of his desk. He then sighed, placing his face in his hands, his elbows leaning on the desk.

"_Orochimaru, I told you to quit it!" Sasuke shouted, shoving the older man off of him. He shuddered in disgust as the feeling of the older man's cold hands on his flesh didn't go away, the skin on his stomach stinging as if Orochimaru's hands had burned him. "Damn it, man! We had an agreement! You have to follow it or else I'll freakin' turn you in, alright?" _

_Orochimaru frowned as he looked at the younger boy, sitting on the ground as it were since the Uchiha had shoved him off of him. He then sighed, shaking his head. "Sasuke…Aren't you selling something…Dangerous and illegal?" _

"_Point?" _

"_Aren't you doing something dangerous and illegal?" Sasuke froze, then turned and glared at him, his face twisted in a snarl. Orochimaru smirked, walking towards him slowly after having gotten up, bending down and placing his fingers under his chin, and lifting his face slowly. "I've got power over you now, Sasuke…" He said softly, licking his lips slowly as Sasuke closed his eyes, grimacing at that fact. "And now…I can abuse it…Just like you abused yours…" _

_He then leaned forward, and Sasuke's eyes opened in time to see an evil, dangerous gleam in his eyes before his entire world changed forever…Scarring him…Forever…_

Sasuke was jerked to the real world, and looked up shakily at Asuma who looked at him worriedly, frowning slightly. "You alright?"

"I…Don't think so…" he whispered softly, before he stood up slowly. "I'm going to the bathroom…" He mumbled, grabbing a hall pass from Asuma's desk and walking out of the classroom. Shikamaru looked at him for a moment as he walked out, before he stood up as well, stretching his arms over his head.

"I'll go check on him, alright Asuma?" The lazy boy said, looking over at the math teacher. Asuma nodded, glancing at Shikamaru, before shooing him off to go follow him, handing him a hall pass as well.

Shikamaru went to the bathroom to see Sasuke standing in front of one of the mirrors, trembling, paler than usual, his hands gripping the sink with white knuckles. Shikamaru slowly walked over to him, tapping his shoulder lightly. "Sasuke…?"

His eyes snapped over to Shikamaru, his pupils dilated, and Shikamaru blinked, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you thinking about?"

"He…" He slowly whispered, the skin on his hands breaking slightly, blood crawling down the pale skin on his knuckles. Shikamaru looked at them for a moment, before looking back up at him.

"He hurt me…" He whispered, looking at him with eyes that didn't truly see the lazy genius. "He hurt me…He…Used me…"

"Who did, Sasuke?" How did he?"

"He…Orochimaru…" Sasuke's grip let go and he fell to his knees as he looked blankly in front of him.

"He raped me."

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Shikamaru shouted, punching the wall to the bathroom, glancing down at the now unconscious Sasuke. He looked up as the door opened, and who should walk in but Naruto.

"Hey Shikamaru—what the hell happened?" Naruto said, looking down at the slumped form of Sasuke, who was softly and slowly breathing, his knuckles trickling small amounts of blood, his skin pale as he looked uncomfortable in whatever world of dreams he was in. He walked over, picking up the lithe boy, and blinked. He was lighter than he looked…

"He walked out of the class, saying he didn't fee alright. I went after him to check up on him, and he seemed to be in a daze. He…He spoke about Orochimaru…" Shikamaru said, looking around, then cracked his knuckles; a nervous habit.

"What about Orochimaru?" Naruto asked, still looking down into the face of Sasuke, his face twisted as if he were in some type of physical or mental pain. "What did he say about Orochimaru?"

"Damn it, Naruto! This is really uncomfortable for me to say, okay?" Shikamaru said, looking at him sharply, before he paced, then sighed, punching the wall to the bathroom again.

"The guy freakin' raped him alright?"

Naruto froze then, his eyes widening as he looked up at Shikamaru, asking him silently if he was serious. Shikamaru nodded, feeling the unasked question as he gently hit his forehead on the bathroom wall. "He's gotta be remembering…He's been zoning out during classes. I heard from Sakura that he didn't snap back at Anko today during gym, Drama he fell asleep…" He sighed, looking over at the blonde who was looking down at the raven headed boy in his arms with wide eyes…As if he felt sorry for the boy…

As if he felt…Protective…?

"Damn it…" Naruto muttered, before he held the boy closer to him, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Damn it…I'm gonna kill him!" His head then snapped over to Shikamaru.

"Find his medical files. Find out everything you haven't about it, and do it now!"

"I can't, I have one more class."

"Damn it, Shikamaru, since when have you cared if you skipped or not? DO IT NOW." Shikamaru stared at him for a moment, before he nodded and rushed out of the bathroom, running down the library which had the closest computers, while Naruto continued to look down at Sasuke, shifting so he cold hold him up with one arm, his other hand stroking his cheek softly.

"What are you hiding in that head of yours…?" He whispered softly. "What other dirty secrets is your brother keeping from you…?"

He then sighed, and exited the bathroom, going up to the roof with the Uchiha in his arms protectively.

* * *

Shikamaru threw a packet of papers at Naruto's feet at the roof, looking at the blonde as he watched him carefully, Sasuke's head in his lap, a hand absentmindedly stroking the dark strands of hair from his pale face. The pained expression that had been on the Uchiha's face before was gone, thankfully.

"Is that everything?"

"Everything I could get without looking suspicious to the librarian." Shikamaru said, slowly calming down and crossing his arms. "How is he?"

"He hasn't woken up, but he's muttering under his breath; I can't understand him. But it looks like he's calming."

"Most likely 'because he's around someone…" Shikamaru said softly, then sighed, and sat down next to him, looking at the Uchiha silently. "Damn it…What kind of sick guy does that to a 10-year-old…"

"He was in a gang with Orochimaru. Some of his charges when he went to jail were sexual assault, rape, and pedophilia, as while as child abuse and molestation. He's a sick freak, Shikamaru, and Sasuke just happened to fall into his lap."

Shikamaru sighed, and then winced slightly as the bell to the end of school rang shrilly, and watched as kids scrambled out of the school, though the members of Bijuu were coming up the fire escape in a line. The lazy boy bent down and picked up the packet he had thrown, holding it in his hand as he got up and went to his usual seat, watching to see everyone's reaction to seeing the unconscious Uchiha up on the roof with his head in Naruto's lap.

The first member up there was Gaara, Temari and Kankuro right behind him. When Gaara saw Sasuke, he blinked, frowning slightly to show his confusion as he walked over, sitting beside Naruto on the side that didn't had Sasuke's body resting on it, looking into his face. "What's wrong with him, Naruto?" He asked, looking up at him. Naruto shook his head, smiling, looking a little pained, and watched as everyone came up, asking the same question, and him always giving the same silent answer.

They didn't need to know…

* * *

Naruto looked up at the building with a little bit of fear, before he shook his head, shifting both Sasuke and his backpacks which were on his back, and then shifting Sasuke more comfortably into his arms, using the key he had taken from Sasuke to go into the building, and went up the stairs, going up to his floor. He looked at the address written in Sasuke's agenda, then walked up to the top floor slowly, going down the hall until he reached the room. He sighed, opening the door quietly, and walking in, looking around briefly, before he took of Sasuke's shoes, and walked him to the couch, setting him down quietly, and placing the darker boy's backpack by the door, closing it. He then slipped off his own shoes, and sat on the part of the couch where Sasuke's head laid, sitting down and placing his head on his lap.

About an hour and a half later, the door opened again, and he looked back slightly to see Itachi looking worn out and tired, rubbing a bandage on his temple briefly, before he looked up to see the blonde on the couch and not the feet of his brother. "Naruto…What the hell…?"

"He went unconscious; I took care of him during school and I brought him back here, he had the address written in his agenda and I took his keys to get in." Naruto explained, looking up at him. "Mind explaining to me why you're not letting him remember the things that happened in his past?"

"It would break him." Itachi muttered, seeing the blonde boy stroking his brother's hair fondly. He raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "I didn't know you were able to be compassionate, Naruto."

"Neither did I…But Sasuke's special…" Naruto mumbled, looking down at the boy, before looking up at Itachi. "Come on, Tachi…You can tell me, can't ya? I'm one of your closest friends…"

"Naruto…" Itachi mumbled, sitting on the arm of the couch and looked at him. "You're my only friend."

* * *

"So why is he unconscious in the first place?" Itachi asked as he started to make some tea for him and Naruto. He glanced back to see the blonde looking at him with a blank stare, before he sighed.

"Guess you should know…He's remembering his past. I'm wondering why you tried so hard for him to forget it…" He said gently, closing his eyes. "I think I understand what you mean by it would break him…It nearly broke him this time."

"What did he remember?" Itachi asked, turning around completely, his eyes hard and serious.

"An incident…With Orochimaru that scarred him for life?" Naruto whispered, looking back at him, only to see Itachi swear under his breath, hitting the counter with his fist, before he closed his eyes. "Don't…make him forget. You're just…Holding the pain back until it comes crashing into his head like a broken dam flooded…And he'll be torn so badly…"

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Naruto laughed hoarsely, closing his eyes, before he looked back at him with a spiteful look.

"Would I ever."


	7. Never the Same

A/N: I really am a cruel person. Anyhow, you learn some new things about Sasuke and see more of his past, and you get startedon catching glimpses of Naruto's past! Now isn't that exciting? We get to see through all the stuff that Naruto went through, while seeing the tidbits of what Sasuke went through at the same time. Soon we'll be learning about Neji and Hinata's past, the Sand Siblings' past, everything! And we'll be learning what the heck Ino does in this story next chapter! WHOOT!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_Sasuke sat in his room, the blanket over his head as he closed his eyes, trying to get the images burning into his mind to leave him alone…Trying to make the feelings scarred into skin go away…Trying to make the pain that tore through him like 1000 knives fade away…_

_It wasn't working. He stiffened when he heard a door creak open, and peeked out from his blankets to see Itachi sitting on his bed in front of him, looking at him worriedly. _

"_Otouto…You look so scared…" He whispered quietly. "What's wrong…?" Sasuke looked away, hugging himself tighter and Itachi said, reaching out a hand to place it on the younger boy's shoulder. Sasuke shied away from the hand, looking at him with broken, doll like eyes. "Sasuke…Talk to me…You're scaring me…" _

"_He hurt me." Sasuke whispered, looking at the blankets quietly. "He hurt me worse than anyone ever could." Itachi sighed. He knew what Orochimaru had done. He had sworn to himself that he would kill that sick freak…_

"_I know…But you have to talk to us, Sasuke…You have to say something. Let us help you." _

"_No one can help me. No one understands. No one has ever been through the same shit that I've gone through!" Sasuke screamed the last part, making Itachi wince. His 10-year-old brother…And yet he knew so much more about the world than more people Itachi's age…_

_Suddenly there was a crash in the front hall, and Itachi stood up, his eyes narrowing as he stood protectively in front of his brother just as two police men walked in calmly, a sobbing Mikoto Uchiha behind them and a pissed off looking Fugaku Uchiha holding her back as she tried to reach out to her sons, her dark eyes looking so torn and broken…_

"_Mama…?" Sasuke whispered, then looked up just as one of the officers quietly pushed Itachi to the side, taking Sasuke by the arm roughly. A flash of memory appeared behind his dark eyes, and he screamed in terror, looking up at the man that didn't look like the police officer anymore…But looked like that sick man instead…_

"_A source told us that he's been selling drugs for the past three months, and he's been doing them for about a month now." One officer explained to the three Uchihas who stood in the front a little while later, Sasuke being carried to the door quietly, crying and sobbing, clutching to the cloth of the his mother's shirt before he was pulled away, screaming. _

"_MAMA! MAMA!"_

"Mama!" Sasuke yelled, shooting up into a sitting position. He blinked, looking around, confused. He was…In his own room in the apartment? He blinked as the door opened, turning to see his brother coming in, with a worried look on his face. Behind him was an equally worriedly looking Naruto, who raised a blonde eyebrow at him.

"What did you dream?" Itachi asked softly, feeling his forehead briefly, before ruffling up his black bangs, smiling a little sadly. "Naruto brought you here after you passed out at school. He took care of you. You should be grateful, not glaring at him." Sasuke blinked his glare dropping as he looked at Naruto, who shrugged in return.

"I was worried; that a crime now?" Naruto asked, smirking a little at him. Sasuke chose to ignore him, and turned to look at his brother again.

"I remember…Mama crying…And two officers taking me somewhere." He mumbled. "Or…I dreamed it. Which is it, Aniki?"

* * *

Neji sat on the roof of the Hyuuga Complex, looking up at the sunset, smiling a little in spite. It was not as beautiful in the city. It would never be as beautiful as if was in the city. But this was life. He turned his head slightly, seeing Hinata walk over to him, sitting down quietly.

"Hello, Hinata." He said, looking forward again. His cousin smiled, sitting next to them, and they both continued to look at the sunset. "What do you think of it?"

"O-of what, Neji-niisan…?" Hinata asked, looking over at him, slightly confused. Neji smiled slightly, indicating to the sunset.

"That. The sunset in the city. What do you think of it?"

"It's…its n-not as b-b-beautiful…As the one in the…C-country." She said, looking at him worriedly. Neji-niisan was acting weird… "Why?"

"Wanted to know you're opinion." He replied softly. They sat there for a few more minutes, before Neji stood up, looking down at her. "You came to ask me something?"

"…No." Hinata said gently, standing up. Neji looked at her, then nodded, and smirked.

"Then let's get training, hm? I'm going to teach you a new defensive technique that's only known by the Hyuuga family."

"O-okay!"

* * *

Itachi sighed as he pulled the blankets up, covering Sasuke back as he looked at the sleeping boy, frowning. "So those eyes of yours can do more than just hypnotize hm?" Naruto asked from the door, leaning against the frame with an interested look. "You hide so many things from me, Tachi." Itachi smirked, turning to look at Naruto and shaking his head. "That hurts."

"Hope it stings later." Itachi mumbled, before he sighed and shuffled out of Sasuke's room, dragging Naruto out as well and quietly closing the door. "He was remembering the day they took him to the rehabilitation centre." He turned to look at Naruto, frowning. "You know all about his dirty little past already, which is why you're curious as to why I kept it from him, right? So you know that he was there for a year before Mom and Dad checked him out, and we moved to the country. Without them knowing it, I used my little gift to make Sasuke forget everything before he was twelve after two years of living in the country peacefully. They thought it was forced amnesia."

Naruto sighed, looking at him quietly. "You did it to protect him." Itachi looked at him again, before smiling quietly.

"I did it to protect him."

* * *

Naruto waved to Itachi as he took his bag and left the apartment, walking down the stairs quickly and rushing outside, taking in a deep breath of the polluted air. He smirked, walking down the sidewalk in a quick pace, looking around.

They had talked for about another hour before he had gotten a call on his cell phone from Kakashi, telling him to come home. Naruto had told him he'd be over there whenever his legs got him there and hung up, telling Itachi he had to leave, and then saying goodbye to Sasuke in his own way.

While Itachi had been at the door getting ready to see Naruto off, Naruto had gone into Sasuke's room, looking at the boy as he slept in a pit of darkness, no dreams or nightmares coming to haunt him and make him relive moments of his life he had never remembered before. Smiling a little in empathy, knowing the feeling, Naruto bent down and softly kissed the Uchiha's forehead, before he pulled away and walked out of the door, closing it behind him. He had met with Itachi at the door and had said their goodbyes, and now Naruto was outside, the apartment slowly disappearing from his sight.

Not like he was watching, of course.

He sighed, turning around from walking backwards, and looked up at the sky, frowning as he watched it start to darken, before he smirked a little. "Neji will be on his roof right about now…Saying how the city doesn't have sunsets that are beautiful. The sap." He said, shaking his head, then sighed, placing his hands behind his head, still looking up at the dull colours above him.

He turned a corner, entering a more dangerous looking part of the city, and looked around, eyes narrowed as he saw someone walk out, cracking their knuckles dangerously. 'God I hate muggers.' He thought, fisting his hands as well, bringing them down to his sides. He rose onto the balls of his feet, raising his fists in front of him, before he ducked, and nearly avoided the metal pipe that a mugger behind him had tried to hit him with.

'A _gang _of muggers, even more fun.' He thought sarcastically, his eyes narrowing again, before he smirked. 'Eh, why not…I haven't let him out in a while…'

Then, suddenly, he dropped to his knees in what looked to be a submissive gesture. The muggers froze in their actions, watching the blonde carefully as his head dropped down, chin touching his chest, his shoulders sagging. Suddenly, though, a killing intent larger than any of a murderers crashed into them, coming from the boy, and Naruto rose his head slightly, smirking evilly, his eyes red with his pupils slits like those of a cat's eyes, the whisker scars on his cheeks deeper than they were before.

He rose slowly to his feet, cracking his neck and then his back, before lastly cracking his knuckles, looking at the muggers with a raised brow, casual, calm, acting as if they were just talking.

"Well, well, well…" He said, his voice deeper, more feral sounding than it had ever been before. "The brat let me out, how nice of him. I guess I get to have some fun with you pawns before I'm locked away, so I better make your deaths nice and sweet…" He then froze, blinking as he cocked his head to the side, listening to something. "No death…Hmm…Fine, I'll knock them out bloody cold." He seemed to listen again, and he laughed, glaring at the muggers.

"Now you get to see the eyes of Kyuubi."

* * *

_He sat on the corner of the sidewalk, looking around quietly, wincing at the glares that he got from the people passing by. He curled up slightly, trying to avoid the glares, and the hateful whispers that he heard all too clearly…_

_Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, smiling in relief and standing up, hugging the legs of a black hair man, his dark eyes kind towards the younger boy. A brown haired woman next to him smiled, her dark eyes also kind, and she picked up the little boy, hugging him fiercely. _

"_Naru-chan, you alright?" The woman asked, looking at the blonde worriedly, seeing tear streaks down his slightly tanned, dirty cheeks, his blue eyes watery and red from previous crying. "Aww, I told you not to run away from us, didn't I?" She scolded, though her voice was still kind and soothing. "Obito," Rin said, and the black haired man blinked, looking at her with a cocked head. "Call Kakashi, eh? I want to know why he let our little blonde out of his sight." _

"_Why don't you ask him yourself?" Obito asked, pointing behind her. The brown haired woman, Rin, looked behind her, and scowled at the silver haired man coming towards them, waving lazily. He saw Naruto, and suddenly grew nervous under Rin's glare, knowing he was in for an earful. _

"_You let him run away and get lost, you idiot!" She screeched, smacking him across the head. _

"_Rin, not in public…" Obito tried to soothe her, but she ignored him. _

"_You **know **very well they don't accept him into their society!" _

"_Then why do you think we created our little home?" Kakashi asked, rubbing his sore, abused head. Rin glared at him deadpanned, and Kakashi laughed a little nervously. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." _

"_Rin…?" The three young adults looked down at the younger Naruto, who looked about five or six. "I'm sorry…Please don't hurt him anymore…It's my fault." _

"_No, no, no…" Rin said, hugging him as he started to cry again. "Shh…No, it's not your fault…" She whispered quietly. She then glared at the people giving them cold looks, hateful stares and people whispering cruelly, though she knew every word they said. _

"_It's their fault."

* * *

_Naruto blinked, sighing and rubbing his temples, looking down at the bodies that were still breathing, but obviously hurt severely, and rolled his eyes, walking away as he wiped the blood off of his hands with a handkerchief in his pocket, frowning slightly.

'Kyuubi went psycho on their asses.' He thought, looking back at the unconscious muggers, before shaking his head and continued towards his home, which was in the slums of the city. 'And…I remembered that day for some reason…' He thought, frowning in thought.

'The day I ran away from home…'

He entered the home quietly, slipping off his shoes and dropping his backpack, looking out the window to see the pure darkness, and shuddered, turning on every light in the house possible, alerting Kakashi that his little blonde charge was home.

"Hey Kakashi," Naruto said, walking into the already lit kitchen and grabbing a can of Pepsi©, sipping it quietly. "Sorry I'm home so late, I ran into some muggers."

"Who did you let do the fighting?"

"Kyuubi's been antsy; I thought I'd let him have a little fun before he forces himself out. And you know how that always ends up."

"Bloody and a lot of police are involved." Kakashi said plainly, flipping a page in his orange perverted book, laughing softly at a part, before looking up as Naruto plopped himself down in front of him, raising an eyebrow in question. "Kyuubi tires you out and you know it."

"It's the only reason I'm the head of the Bijuu Gang, and you know it." Naruto muttered darkly, eyes narrowing as he stared hard at his Pepsi© can. Kakashi was surprised it didn't crumple into itself to hide form the glare the blonde was giving it.

"You're strong without him."

"I'm weak without him and he bloody well knows it." Kakashi sighed, looking at him, before he smiled a little, and shrugged.

"Ah well, we're not all great." He said, then sighed and put down his book, standing up. "You want to go visit them again…? I'm sure they'd like to hear from their favourite blonde."

Naruto smiled up at Kakashi, knowing he was just trying to comfort him and pull him from his dark thoughts, before he nodded and stood up, finishing the rest of his drink and going cross eyed as he felt the after effects of drinking pop a little too fast, before shaking his head and following his silver haired guardian, slipping on his shoes again just as Kakashi did, and walked out the door with him.

They walked down the familiar path that Naruto had taken before, going down at a more controlled pace as they walked down the alleyway, turning and walking down the road, Naruto looking around as he sighed, looking at the dulled stars.

He shuddered at the dark, stepping a little closer to his guardian, and Kakashi snickered slightly, holding an arm out for Naruto to pinch. He winced slightly, then looked down to see Naruto let go of his skin, breathing in deeply.

"Don't worry, the lights at the memorial stone should be lit by now, if Iruka lit them." Kakashi said, looking down at him softly. Naruto frowned, still following him quietly. "Are you still feeling the after effects of your pop, or Kyuubi?"

"Both, and the combination sucks." Kakashi outright laughed, then winced when Naruto punched him.

* * *

"_Hey look, it's one of 'em." A boy said, glaring at the blonde who walked down the hall quietly. "And he's got blonde hair and blue eyes. Some nerve he's got, trying to look like us." _

_Naruto turned his head slightly to the side, his eyes narrowing a bit as he saw the two that had been whispering. They blinked in surprise when he turned around, walking right up to them, his face calm, his eyes a raging fire of emotions. _

"_Think I can't hear you?" He said quietly, his voice softly. He then grinned, his eyes turning a dangerous red, cat slits replacing his usual pupils, his look become more rugged and feral. "Think again." He said his voice rough and evil.

* * *

_Naruto shook his head, looking at the stone tablet with the names of all the people he had known when he was a child, resting his forehead against the cool stone, before pulling back and walking away, knowing that Kakashi would come back home at his own time.

Kakashi listened to him walk away, before he turned to the stone again and sighed, tracing the name of Obito, and then Rin. "You know…He hasn't been the same since you guys left him." He said gently. "He doesn't…Smile, anymore. He has fake grin and fake smiles so that people don't ask him questions. He has his smirks and all his other emotions…His violence is the only thing that's truly real, now though…and his feelings for the people he loves and will die protecting." He sighed.

"He's a good leader to the gang we all made to protect ourselves from society…Our little home. He makes sure everyone is well and good, and strong. He finds out the information of any member he wants to join, thanks to his hacker, and he has so many different spies and members that are in different gangs as information gatherers. It's…Quite the little thing he's got.

"Iruka would be pissed if he found out that the gang is still alive and kicking, though. He's…Completely oblivious to it, but that's because he's been going to the hospital so many times. He gave Naruto back into my care after you had given Naruto to Iruka to look after him. Iruka's little sickness isn't doing well either…God, he's worse than before, even though the doctors say he's getting better. He looks like shit."

He sighed, kneeling down and looking at his reflection, placing his forehead on the cool alabaster stone. "I wish…sometimes that things…Were like before…"

He then stood up, looking at the stone, and saluted it mockingly, smirking as he imagined Rin's reaction and Obitio's laughter.

"But that will never happen."


	8. Memory Attacks

A/N: I finished this at midnight last night. I wanted to put it up. The site wouldn't let me. You have NO RIGHT to kill me. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Sasuke woke up quietly, slowly sitting up and looking around, touching his forehead carefully. He felt an odd feeling on his skin…He wasn't sure how to explain or describe it but he did know one thing:

He didn't mind it.

Slowly getting out of bed, he shuddered as he noticed he had been stripped down to his boxers. He wrapped his arms tightly around his bare chest and arms, shivering in the sudden coolness of the room. He looked up jerkily when there was a knock on the door. "Aniki…?" He whispered the question carefully, almost afraid of the answer. The door opened, and Itachi walked in quietly, looking at Sasuke carefully.

"Otouto," he replied quietly, holding his arms out wide. Sasuke looked at him for a moment, before he walked over to him slowly, standing inches before him. Itachi wrapped his arms around his little brother, hugging him and holding him close as he felt his brother grip the fabric of his shirt with white knuckles. "It's okay, now…I'm here for you now…"

"They're…Not going to take me away again?" He asked quietly, looking up at him with his dark eyes. Itachi smiled, and then shook his head, pulling back slightly to look at his brother. "They're…Not going to take me away from you again?"

"No, they're not going to. You haven't done anything wrong." He said gently, looking at hm carefully. "You're…Just remembering the past." Sasuke blinked, looking up at him again. His eyes…They were so blank…Like they had been before…

"Remembering…The past?" He asked his voice dropping down to a whisper. He looked at his brother's chest for a moment, his grip still tight on the dark fabric, and he heard Itachi make a sound of agreement. "I'm…Remembering everything I've forgotten?"

Itachi sighed at that; he hated the fact that his otouto was remembering everything he had tried so hard for him to forget, before he nodded, knowing Sasuke didn't see it but doing it all the same. "That's right; you're remembering the events that happened…Everything that had been blank is going to start to come to light…" He then pulled back, lifting Sasuke's chin up quietly. "But this time I'm not going to be foolish and make you forget, my little brother," he said gently.

Sasuke blinked, looking up at him as Itachi smiled, though his eyes looked so sad. Why were they sad…?

"This time…I'm going to be with you through it all."

* * *

Sasuke walked towards Konoha high quietly, a little more secluded and quiet than usual. No normal glare; no normal annoyed look as the girls by him swooned. His face was blank, and his eyes looked distant and almost dead. He tried to fold into himself and shied away from physical contact from both genders, quickening his pace as he made his way to the fire escape up to the roof.

He climbed quietly, going over what his brother had told him after Itachi had convinced him to take a shower and go to school, even though the memory of what Orochimaru did to him was still fresh, like it was the first time it had happened and it hurt him so much.

_Itachi sat a cup of hot chocolate in front of Sasuke, who took it quietly, his black sleeves of his long sleeved turtle neck pulling back slightly to show some of the skin on his wrist, before he pulled the cup towards him, holding it to his chest as he pensively sipped it. His older brother sat down in front of him, looking at him quietly, before he sighed, reaching out and pushing aside some of the younger boy's bangs from his face, before pulling his hand back. _

"_When you go to school, Sasuke, I want you to go straight to the roof. That's where Naruto and his gang hang out. You've just remembered something traumatic, and you can't properly deal with it, because you need to get to school. Naruto knows what's happened and he understand the situation better than any of us; I want you to stick around with him and his friends, alright? Stay close to them; they'll make sure you live through the day." Itachi explained, watching as Sasuke sipped some more of the hot chocolate. _

"_But…They're a gang, aren't they? How can we trust them?" he whispered softly, looking up at Itachi with those blank, dead eyes that Itachi had grown to loathe so much since Sasuke had woken up. It was like…He wasn't even there…_

"_Naruto's a close friend of mine and he's trustworthy. He will take care of you. Please, otouto, I want you to be okay today. I don't want people to ask you uncomfortable questions. You might get some from the people on the roof, but you don't have to tell them. In fact, I suggest you don't unless you trust them a lot." _

"_Naruto…He's the blonde dobe, isn't he?" Itachi had laughed a little weakly at that, realizing that Sasuke's new memories were going to be a little foggy while he was remembering the things he had been forced to forget by a caring brother who didn't know what to do. It pained him, but he knew it was going to be true. _

"_Yeah, that's Naruto all right. He's a dobe, but he's a trustworthy dobe. Now, do I make myself clear, otouto?" _

"_Yes, Aniki," Sasuke said, sipping up more of the warm chocolate drink in his hands. "Crystal clear." _

He sighed quietly as he pulled himself up onto the edge, standing there quietly as he looked around for the blonde. His eyes finally landed on him on the other side of the roof, talking to a red headed boy he vaguely remembered being quiet and kind of creepy. He shook his head; no…There was no one creepier than Orochimaru. Slowly, he made his way over to Naruto, ignoring to stares he got from other members. He finally stopped in front of him, standing there awkwardly.

Naruto looked up, his eyebrows rising to his hairline as he saw who was standing in front of him. "Sasuke…?" He asked, before he stood up, pocketing his hands and cocking his head to the side. "What's up, Uchiha?"

"Aniki…Told me to stick close to you today." He said quietly, and Naruto blinked at the softness of his voice; the emptiness…

He smiled and nodded, pointing to the spot beside him. "Alright, I think I know why. Sit," he said, sitting down himself. Sasuke sat quietly, hands folding in his lap as he looked at the ground blankly. Naruto watched him for a moment, seeing how dead his eyes seemed, then sighed softly, and nudged him a bit. "You wanna talk?"

"Not…Really," Sasuke said gently, looking over at him. "I…Wouldn't know what to say."

"You're speaking now, aren't ya?" Naruto asked, grinning at him. Sasuke looked at him, before the corner of his mouth quirked briefly, and he nodded, looking around the roof. Naruto sighed, looking at him carefully, before he turned back to Gaara, shrugging off his questioning gaze. "It's nothing, alright? Don't ask about it."

Gaara nodded, glancing at the Uchiha for a moment, before talking to Naruto again.

* * *

"Hang around with her for your first period class, and then hang around with the guy with pale eyes for your second and third." Naruto said, pushing Sasuke towards Sakura first, grinning at him. "Remember their names?"

"Not…Really…" Sasuke admitted, looking at Sakura carefully, blinking. "Sakura…" He muttered. Sakura smiled at him brightly, and nodded, before she held a hand up, telling him to hold on for a second, before she walked over to Naruto.

"What's wrong? Why wouldn't Sasuke remember our names?" She hissed at him, eyes narrowing. Naruto shrugged a shoulder, looking at her.

"I don't have the right to say. You'll have to ask him. I'd be careful, though; he's unstable because of it." He whispered quietly and calmly back at her, before smirking and nudging her towards the waiting Uchiha. The pink haired girl sighed at the blonde, before she smiled at Sasuke.

"Alright, let's go. We have gym first." She said, taking his wrist carefully, seeing him tugging at her hand weakly. She frowned slightly, and loosened her grip on his wrist, seeing him gently pull it out of her grasp completely and pocketed his hands, following her back down to go into the school. Sakura looked back at Naruto with confusion written in her green eyes, before they disappeared down the steps.

Shikamaru decided to step up at that moment, frowning. "That's…The aftereffects, right?" He asked, looking at him. Naruto frowned, nodding, and Shikamaru sighed. "No wonder he doesn't remember practically dink about us."

"Aftereffects of what?" Neji asked, looking at them from where he stood right behind them. Naruto glanced back at him, shrugging a shoulder again.

"Like I just told Sakura, I don't have the right to say." He said, sighing. "But I suggest you don't ask him about it." He then nodded to Shikamaru in a type of goodbye, before he walked down the fire escape himself, leaving the Nara and the Hyuuga behind.

Neji looked over at Shikamaru, raising an eyebrow. The lazy boy immediately raised his hands in a placating matter. "No, no, no, don't you DARE ask me about it, alright? It makes me uncomfortable enough; I don't need to have to repeat the experience. That is the UCHIHA'S job here, alright? And follow Naruto's request; _don't _ask him. Please." He added the last word as an afterthought, then turned and walked to the fire escape, waving lazily to Neji.

The Hyuuga sighed, scowling at them, before he shook his head and follow him down the fire escape.

* * *

"_That's him, isn't it?" _

"_Who?" _

"_That kid that beat down those two eighth graders. One of our friends was there and he told us the entire thing; the two eighth graders were making fun of him or something, and he turned on them and completely snapped or whatever." The first kid explained, watching the blonde carefully as he sat in the corner of the room, looking out the window quietly. _

"_Why would they make fun of him anyhow?" the other child, a girl asked the first, a boy. The boy shrugged, shaking his head, and the girl sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're hopeless." _

"_Sorry," he said sheepishly, grinning. Another child joined the conversation, another girl, as she leaned towards them. _

"_They were making fun of him because he's Asian." _

"_That's racist!" _

"_Some kids are like that." The 6th grader said to the other two 6th graders, shrugging slightly. "It's stupid and everything, but it's true as well. The poor guy; they were making fun of him because he's a natural blonde haired, blue eyed kid, yet he's Asian. They thought he was 'trying to fit in' or whatever." _

"_Ohh," the first girl said, frowning slightly as she looked over at the blonde boy with pity in her eyes. The boy suddenly looked up, his blue eyes watching them quietly, carefully, as a small frown tugged at his lips. _

"_I can hear you." He said gently. The two girls and the boy all blinked, surprised at this. He then smiled, and shook his head. "Don't worry…I'm not going to hurt you." He then sighed, and looked out the window again, watching as the rain outside rolled down the windows. "But please don't talk about me…It makes me feel nervous." _

"_Oh…Sorry," the first girl said, smiling sheepishly at him as the other girl went back to hr work and the boy scratched the back of his head. Naruto turned to look at them, and smiled slightly, nodding, before he turned back to the window. _

Naruto blinked, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms, wondering where that came from. He looked around carefully in his Geography class, then sighed and shook his head, resting his chin on his palm quietly, watching as Jiraiya talked about something or other that the blonde didn't really care about.

He bet that the white haired teacher didn't care, either, and he was just anxious to start looking for 'research' for his hit book series…The same damn series that Kakashi read…Damn they were both perverts.

He sighed as he thought of the memory, then looked out to the window, and blinked, raising his eyebrows. That explained it…It was raining outside. And he, being right next to the window, could look out the window whenever he wanted to. He sighed, and settled himself comfortably into his seat, watching the rain drops as they dripped down the window, smiling slightly as thunder clapped a few miles away, lightening flashing a few minutes later.

He had always found the rain to be relaxing…

* * *

Sasuke leaned against the wall quietly, his eyes closed as he listened to Sakura talk about something or other. He suddenly felt her shift, and opened his eyes a bit, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah…?" He asked quietly, cocking his head to the side.

"Sasuke…You're acting really different today. Like something happened to you," she said quietly, tucking a pink strand of hair behind her ear as she watched him carefully. "Do you…Want to tell me what's up? You can trust me, you know; I'm a fairly trustworthy person."

"Trustworthy…Huh?" He whispered quietly, looking down to the side, before he looked up at her and smiled, the smile looking hallow, before he looked somewhere beyond her. "It's…something that hurt me…In my past." He said gently. "That's all."

"Like…What?" Sakura asked him gently, looking at him worriedly. Sasuke stiffened, then smiled, hallow again, and shook his head.

"No…You don't need to know that." He whispered gently, then pushed himself off of the wall, and went to play volleyball with the other kids, missing Anko's slightly worried look as she saw the two of them talking.

'Did he…Is he remembering…?' She thought, frowning. 'I heard that…His brother killed off his memory…So that he wouldn't be hurt…' She thought, sighing quietly. 'I wonder what memory plagued him.'

* * *

Sasuke walked quietly down the halls towards English with Neji, who was looking over at him every few minutes, frowning slightly. Something was wrong with the guy, he knew it…

Suddenly Sasuke stopped, placing his hand on the wall, his hand at his side curling into a fist as his eyes widened, his entire body shaking. Neji stopped as well, looking at him worriedly. "Hey…Sasuke…?" He asked, tapping his shoulder slightly. "Sasuke, come on man, we're gonna be late…" He trailed off as he saw a tear roll down Sasuke's cheek.

"No…I want my Mama…Let me see my Mama…" He whispered, falling to his knees. Neji's eyes widened and he went down to his knees as well.

"Sasuke…?"

"**_WHERE'S MAMA?_**"

* * *

"_Come now, son, let's go over here. This will be your room from now on, alright? You have a roommate here and everything! She'll be nice and she'll take care of you, just like everyone else will, and she'll make sure that you follow the rules. Is that okay?" _

"_No…" Sasuke whispered, looking up at the man that was holding his hand in a friendly gesture. "I want my Mama…" He tugged his hand out of the man's grip, stepping away from him and the woman inside of the room, both of them looking at him worriedly. "Where is she? Let me see my Mama…!" _

"_She'll come when visiting hours are open," the woman explained, standing up and walking over to him carefully, smiling at him. "I'm here for you, though, if you want to talk to me…?" _

_Sasuke shook his head roughly, then turned and ran down the halls, ignoring the yells that came his way from the man and woman at the room. He was crying and he was running blindly and he knew it; but he was hurt and he was broken and he wanted his Mama…But he couldn't find his Mama…Where was Mama?_

"_**WHERE'S MAMA?**"

* * *

_Sasuke was beating his fists against Neji's chest, while Neji was trying to calm him down. "Sasuke…! What the hell…?"

"I want my Mama! She's the only one who can understand! The only one who can help me!" He cried out, not knowing that there were people watching. "She's the only one who knows how to help me with my pain; she's the only one that cares! THE ONLY ONE THAT CARES! **_WHERE'S MAMA?_**"

"What pain, Sasuke?" Neji asked, gripping his wrists to make him stop beating his chest. "What kind of pain are you going through?" He knew he was talking to a 'younger' version of Sasuke, seeing as he thought his mother was still alive, so he was trying to be as calm as he could, but he knew that this was a serious situation. He'd never seen the Uchiha like this…

"He hurt me…" Sasuke suddenly whispered, falling limp against Neji. Neji blinked, looking down at him in confusion, and saw Sasuke gripping his white shirt with equally white knuckles. "She's the only one who knows how he hurt me…It hurts…It hurts so much…I feel so dirty…"

"What hurts?" Neji asked quietly, glaring at the people staring. They quickly ran off, except for one lone teacher—Kakashi. But he didn't look to be getting ready to scold him. He was waiting to see if Sasuke would say anything else on this matter.

"It hurts…" He whined, gripping Neji's shirt even tighter. "Everything inside me hurts…He hurt me in the possible way anyone ever could and he took joy out of it…He took pleasure out of it…" He looked up at Neji with distant, miserable eyes. "I need someone to help me…" He leaned even heavier on Neji, needing the support. "Help me…"

And then he went unconscious.

* * *

Kakashi placed Sasuke down on the bed in the nurse's office, looking down at the sleeping boy as he whimpered slightly, before smoothing back some of his dark hair from his forehead in a soothing gesture. It seemed to work because he quieted and was sleeping peacefully, turning onto his side and curling into a tiny ball to protect himself. The English teacher then turned to Neji, who looked lost and confused.

"What was that…?" He asked, looking up at Kakashi. Kakashi sighed, shaking his head and shrugging, before he turned to look at the darker boy again.

"I have…No idea." He muttered, then sighed, and turned to the Hyuuga again. "I want you to stay here with him for a moment, alright? I'm going to go find Naruto."

Neji nodded, and sighed, sitting down in the chair and looked at the boy in front of him. He seemed so…Vulnerable in his sleep…

He was so vulnerable just a few minutes ago.

He leaned back in his chair, thinking to himself as he heard the silver haired teacher close the door behind him, leaving him alone in the room with the sleeping boy that had just minutes ago had what seemed like an anxiety attack or something.

He closed his eyes, sighing as he thought about what Sasuke was talking about…He was saying it with such erratic breathing, his voice lowering and rising in random moments, it was almost hard to make out his sentences.

But Neji lived with Hinata Hyuuga, a girl who stuttered worse than anyone who was freezing cold, so he could grasp exactly what he had been saying.

Something had happened…Some had hurt him…He didn't know who or what, but he could gather that much information. He wanted his mother…Impossible, since she was dead, but Sasuke wasn't in the present 'time' at that moment, you could say. It seemed almost like he was remembering things…

But that was almost impossible. Sharingan Itachi wouldn't let that happen.

Neji sighed as he ran a hand down his face, before he blinked, looking over at Sasuke who was slowly opening his eyes. He blinked for a moment, his dark eyes still as empty as they had been that morning, and still as distant, but he seemed to know where he was this time. Well, at least the current time and not his past or whatever. Neji sighed; he was really going to get a major headache after this, wasn't he?

"Hey Sasuke," the Hyuuga boy greeted, looking at him as said boy slowly sat up, blinking and rubbing his eyes, looking around curiously. "How're you doing?"

"What do you mean…?" He asked, looking over at Neji with confused eyes. "Did…Something happen?"

"Remember anything?" Neji asked, not knowing the effect those words would have on the boy in front of him. Sasuke froze, looking at his lap with wide eyes, before he shook his head and sighed, nodding.

"I remember…" He whispered. "Sorry…" He then closed his eyes, running a hand down his face. "Did I…Say anything?" He whispered, looking up at him.

"Vaguely; I have no idea what the hell you were talking about, but you seemed hysterical." Sasuke nodded, looking at the roof in thought, before he fell back against the bed, his arms outstretched at either side of him.

"Thank you."

* * *

Naruto looked up at the door, raising an eyebrow as he saw Kakashi waving at him with that bored look on his face, but he knew he was nervous, because his shoulders were straight and not slouched. He stood up abruptly, bowing in apology to the teacher of his class, before snatching a hall pass and walking out, closing the door. He walk down a few feet, then turned and crossed his arms, looking at Kakashi oddly.

"What is it?" He asked simply. Kakashi looked at him for a moment, before he sighed, and shrugged, pocketing his hands. "Come on; it has to be important if you called me out of class personally!"

Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. "Sasuke had a memory attack." Naruto blinked; both at the name that Kakashi decided to dub the spastic attacks that took hold of Sasuke whenever he remembered, and at the fact that he had one of these spastic attacks. "He's in the nurse's office right now; Neji's with him, so no, he isn't alone. I thought I'd tell you; you seem to like him."

Naruto blushed slightly at that, and Kakashi grinned under his mask, before he side stepped just as Naruto started to march down the halls towards the nurse's office, set on seeing Sasuke.

The English teacher chuckled and shook his head, going down the hall to go back to his class. He was late; just like he liked it.

Meanwhile, Naruto was speeding down the halls, worry tugging at the strings of his heart and at his gut. He wondered how severe this 'memory attack' as Kakashi had dubbed it was. It seemed that Sasuke was slowly remembering everything about his past.

What would happen if he remembered everything?

Turning sharply, he stopped in front of the door and opened it quietly. He poked his head in to see Neji resting comfortably in his chair, sleeping quietly, while the Uchiha himself was staring at the ceiling in quiet contemplation. Naruto sighed, walking into the room, and sitting gently onto the bed.

He jumped when Sasuke bolted up, grabbing his wrist, and looked with wide blue eyes at the dark obsidian eyes that stared back at him. Sasuke stared at him, blinking, before letting go of his wrist, pulling it back slightly and sighed, hugging his torso to himself. "You okay?" Naruto asked gently. Sasuke looked at him, and then shook his head.

"No."

* * *

"_Rin…" Naruto started softly, looking up at her with his wide, innocent blue eyes, biting his bottom lip. "Remember what happened the other day…?" _

"_You didn't mean to." Rin said softly, smiling at him as she smoothed out some of his bright blonde hair. "I mean, you were only defending yourself." _

"_They only mocked me, thinking I couldn't hear them. I lied. I attacked them first." He said, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry." _

_Rin looked at him, then sighed and hugging him to her chest, rocking him back and forth as he gripped the fabric of her shirt tightly in his fists. "Oh, Naruto…"

* * *

_"Naruto?" The blonde blinked, hearing a voice speaking, and looked over to see Neji looking at him oddly. "When'd you get here?"

Naruto looked at the clock, then smiled and shrugged. "Hour ago." He said, then sighed, and looked down at the head that rested in his lap. Ah, that must've been the reason why Neji was looking at him oddly.

"…Were you reminiscing?" Neji asked, knowing that the blonde would understand. Naruto snorted, closing his eyes and sighed, shrugging slightly.

"Sure, whatever you want to call it."

* * *

Sasuke didn't want to go to lunch.

He had no where to sit, and he didn't want to eat because he kept on saying he wasn't hungry. But Naruto wouldn't let him pull that, and had dragged him out of the nurse's office, gently mind you, and towards the caf since it was still raining out, meaning the roof was so very, very wet.

They sat on the stage, the other usual people sitting there moving away so that the Bijuu Gang could sit there, and Sasuke sat in the corner of it, knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs as he rested his chin on his knees. Naruto sat next to him, setting down a medium sized cup of French fries in front of him. Sasuke stared at them for a while, and then looked over at him in question.

"Your brother will kill me if I didn't feed you something." He said, smiling at the raven haired boy. Sasuke nodded, unfurling from his ball and taking the cup, eating some of the fries quietly without complaint. Naruto watched him from the corner of his eye for a while, before he smiled and nodded, turning his attention to Gaara who was looking at him quietly, patiently. He ruffled the red head's hair a bit and Gaara glared at him slightly, shying away, making Naruto laugh.

Sasuke sighed, turning to look at the group of people that were in a potentially dangerous gang, and saw people he had never thought had been in it. There was Tenten…Sakura…Shino? He shook his head, frowning slightly as he ate his fries quietly. Though he was acting a little more…Normal, as Naruto had put it, his eyes were still distant and blank, still making the other people that knew him well worried. He shook off their worry, though; they knew nothing. They had nothing to be worried about.

He was about to curl back into himself and ignore the group when a sudden loud voice was sounded throughout the group, making Naruto lazily turn his head, and grin.

"Hey, it's Flirt!" He said, catching the attention of many of the other members. They all grinned and scooted away to make a pathway as footsteps sounded, heels clicking on the wood of the stage, going towards Naruto.

Blonde hair flipped over a shoulder in a high ponytail, a large piece of hair in front of her face. She had bright blue eyes and peach coloured skin, and she wore a Bohemian skirt that was coloured a light blue, accenting her bright eyes, and a white peasant shirt with a flower pattern sewn in the front. She had tanned boots on her feet as she made her way to Naruto, crouching down and pushing his shoulder roughly, making Kyuubi of the Bijuu stumble a little at the shove.

"Missed ya, too."

"You gave me one HELL of a dangerous job, Naruto!" Ino said, plopping down beside him and crossing her arms in a huff. "I mean, really! Why'd I agree to this?"

"Because you wanted to do more than just sit around all day listening to meetings, you wanted to go out and have fun, you wanted to be a spy for the Gang, AND…You really like flirting." Naruto said, looking at him. "How'd the information gathering go?"

"Well, but I had to take THREE showers after that." Ino said, shuddering. Naruto took a worried look then.

"Did they…?"

"No way in HELL man! I am NOT letting anyone's FILTHY PAWS touch ME! I'm celibate." Naruto stared at her, and then laughed out loud at that, smacking his knee.

"I forgot! Our little information gathering flirt is a celibate! My God, that's just…Ironic, is it? Oh, I don't care." He then sighed and looked over at Sasuke, who looked confused out of his mind. "Sasuke, meet Ino Yamanaka, AKA: Flirt. She's a spy of the highest degree because she has to do some dangerous and dirty jobs. She flirts with the enemy, and has to get information out after she's made them STINKING drunk."

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. This girl was in his GYM CLASS, and she _did _stuff like this? What kind of girl was she?"

"Now before you go thinking I'm a whore," Ino interrupted his thoughts, looking at him seriously. "I don't do that kind of crap. It's disgusting and no one could pay me enough cash to even get me to think of that stuff. I just have to sit on some guys'—or girls'—laps and play a little dirty, we shall say because I am NOT saying anything else to make Naruto laugh his damn ass off." She said, hitting the blonde haired boy over the head again. "Shut up, damn it Uzumaki."

"Love ya too, girl."

"Yeah, RIGHT." Ino said, rolling her eyes and grinning. "I'm your spy!"

"And my favourite one!" Naruto said, hugging her randomly. She laughed at that, kissing his cheek before pushing him off. "And you're such a flirt, you celibate."

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

At the end of the day, Sasuke was walking down towards his apartment in the company of Sakura, who strangely enough lived in the same apartment building.

"Naruto himself would've walked you, but he lives on the other side of town in the slums, you know?" She said, smiling at the Uchiha beside her, then sighed and looked up, spinning around in the rain. "Don't you love the rain, Sasuke?" She asked, turning to look at him. Sasuke had his face upturned to the sky, letting the drops hit him with a blank look…

_Orochimaru stepped back, straightening out his clothes after having put them back on, and pushed some of his dark hair from his pale face, walking to the window in the recreation building, looking out of it, before he sighed. "Oh my, it's raining. This will make coming home difficult." He said, and then turned to Sasuke. _

"_Don't you agree, dear Sasuke?" _

Sasuke blinked, then shook his head and sighed. "I don't know…" He mumbled softly. "I like it now…But I guess I also hate it…"

"Why would you hate it?"

"Something bad happened to hurt me when it rained." Sakura looked at him worriedly, biting her bottom lip, before she nodded.

"Alright; let's walk faster so we're not soaked."

Sasuke nodded.


	9. Never Forgive

A/N: Whoo, guess who's back form ENGLAND, YO! Anyhow, England was fun; the hospital part, NOT SO MUCH, but England in general. I'm going to be coming back to my old schedule, and I'll try to update as much as possible when school starts next week. Hide me, Mommy. School's starting soon. MEEP. _(hides in corner) _ANYHOW! I hope you enjoy this chapter; it's more about Naruto's past than anything, but I still had fun typing it. WHOOT.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Itachi entered the apartment to see Sasuke sitting on the armchair, looking out the window with his legs pulled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around the legs and his chin resting on his knees. The older Uchiha brother looked at the younger for a long moment, before he sighed, putting his coat on the rake and walking over to him, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"How was your day?" He asked, looking at the younger boy worriedly. Sasuke was just…Staring…At nothing.

Suddenly those dark eyes looked up at him, and Sasuke shrugged slightly. "It was fine." He said gently. "I did what you asked me to." Itachi smiled and nodded, then sighed and stood up, going over to the kitchen to start making them dinner. "Aniki…Why did you make me forget?" Sasuke asked gently, looking at the ground and not his brother. Itachi winced at that, looking back at the younger Uchiha with guilt in his eyes.

"I was trying to protect you." He replied honestly; it was what he was trying to do. He just…Did it wrongly. Sasuke nodded, closing his eyes. "Do you hate me for it?"

"I thought I would." Sasuke replied quietly. Itachi froze, gripping the counter with white knuckles as he closed his eyes, holding his breath as his heart clenched painfully. "…But I don't." Itachi opened his eyes in shock, his breath letting out and his grip loosening. "What's for dinner?"

Itachi sighed, leaning against the counter, before turning to look at Sasuke and smiling slightly. "What do you want for dinner, otouto?"

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Naruto shook his head like a puppy, water flying off of the wild blonde locks, before he looked up, pushing back his wet bangs from his blue eyes to see Kakashi drying his hair off with a towel, looking at him oddly. His blue bandage and his mask had been taken off, leaving his face to be bared; the only person who would ever see his face was Naruto.

"So how's Sasuke?"

"A little shaken, but he should be fine." Naruto said, smiling slightly. "I got Sakura to walk him home; they live in the same apartment building, so it's all good. Itachi told him to hang around the gang and me so that he can act semi-normal without worry of freaking out during class without someone he trusts there beside him."

Kakashi sighed, leaning against the wall and tossing him the towel, sighing as his hair flopped over the left side of his face. "That boy sure is a handful; he's going to break any second you know."

Naruto sighed, drying off his hair with the towel, and looked at him quietly. "That's why Itachi wants me around him; I can relate to him on more levels."

"You weren't raped, Naruto."

"I was damn close, Kakashi, and you fuck well know it."

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Sakura sighed quietly, pushing back her hair from her eyes as she continued to cook her supper, looking over her shoulder and sighing at Ino, who was looking out the window quietly. "What's up, Ino? Why'd you come over so late?"

"Sasuke Uchiha; what's up with him? He seems more quiet than usual…And his eyes are dead." The blonde said, looking over to her best friend quietly, her wet hair dripping droplets onto the blanket that was wrapped around her. Sakura sighed, putting down her kitchen knife and walked over to Ino, sitting next to her and looking out the window, watching the rain quietly.

"I don't know what's wrong; he says that he's remembering something in his past that hurt him. I didn't understand what he meant, though." She then smiled slightly, looking at her. "But we don't have to worry about that, right? What we have to worry about is getting you something to eat."

Ino smiled slightly and nodded, looking out the window again quietly as Sakura got up to continue cooking supper. "So…Where are the rents?" She asked gently, watching the rain fall quietly.

"They're on a big business trip again; they're never home so they might as well be dead." Sakura said bitterly, frowning slightly, before she sighed. "I got a post card from Hawaii last time they contacted me. That was a month ago. I doubt they're there anymore."

"Sakura…Aren't you lonely in this apartment?" Ino asked, looking over at her and frowning slightly. "I mean, it's meant for three people, and yet only one person lives here."

"I'm going to ask my parents when they call this month if I can rent out their room to someone so that it's easier for me to pay the rent. Most likely they won't mind as long as I put away all their junk in case 'someone tries to steal them'." Sakura snorted at that, then sighed, pushing chopped up carrots into the soup she was making. "It doesn't really matter to me; I hate them anyhow."

Ino sighed, and nodded. "Yeah…Same here."

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The next day came with sun hitting Sasuke in the face in his open window, the rain from the day before having ended in the middle of the night. Sasuke groaned softly, turning in his bed, before he slowly sat up, looking around. He blinked lazily, looking at the door to see Itachi standing there looking at him. Sasuke shook his head, and Itachi sighed, before he walked over to him.

"Last day of school this week, then it's the weekend. We'll be going somewhere to celebrate surviving for a week here, and then you have to find a job so that you can help pay the rent with me." The older Uchiha said, and then smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Sasuke replied truthfully, looking up at Itachi. "I think…I think I'll be okay."

Itachi smiled, then nodded and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "Get a shower and get dressed; your breakfast will be made when you're finished." He then smiled and ruffled up Sasuke's hair, walking out of the room.

Sasuke looked at the closed door, then sighed and got up to do as he was told. Sighing quietly, he got up and walked to his bathroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click and slowly started to remove his clothes to get ready for his shower. When he pulled off his T-shirt that he had slept in, he looked at the left side of his neck, blinking at the tattoo he had found the other day.

Suddenly he placed a hand over it, teeth clenched tightly as if he were in pain as he fell to his knees, his forehead resting against the cupboard door as his eyes closed and his mind pulled him back into another one of his many memories.

_Orochimaru looked at all of the children he had gathered from a variety of places; the street, at schools, and even in some playgrounds. Lonely looking children that separated themselves from society and life. He had gathered them all; given them a place to stay. A 'home' or sorts. _

"_From now on your loyalties belong to me, Orochimaru Goizamu. I am the only one you can truly trust. I am the only one you can place your life into; your very thoughts and secrets. To show your loyalties to me, I am going to give you tattoos. Your tattoo will depend on what 'rank' you hold in this gang. Line up in a single file and stand quietly. We have a tattooist here to give you these markings." The children all stood up, lining up as they were told to do, Sasuke standing in between a white haired boy named Kimimaro who seemed to be quiet and a girl with dark brown hair and green eyes, a strand of hair in front of her face; Tayuya, he remembered her calling herself. _

_Slowly, one by one, they went up to the tattooist that Orochimaru had brought, him telling the tattooist what the tattoo had to look like on each person. Tayuya went up right before him, and got a tattoo on her shoulder that was zigzagged. Finally it was his turn. _

_He walked up quietly, looking at the tattooist with slight fear in his dark obsidian eyes. He sat down quietly and he felt Orochimaru smile fondly at him; he was the favourite. He knew he was the favourite. And he hated it, but he had to live through it; this was his only salvation; his only escape from reality. He'd deal. _

"_Left side of his neck; make it this one." Orochimaru said, showing the tattoo to the tattooist. The man raised an eyebrow in question, looking at him carefully. _

"_You gave this one to Anko when she was here." He said quietly as he prepared the black ink, telling Sasuke to relax and sit still, and to bear the pain as best as possible. "He a special one?" _

_Orochimaru smiled. "Very much so." _

_Before Sasuke could retort to that—tell him he didn't want to be special—the needle went upon his skin and started to forever mark his pale skin, making him close his eyes and hiss through his teeth in undistinguishable pain. A few minutes later, it stopped, and he looked over at his sore shoulder as the man took a cloth and wiped the blood off of it, before he tapped a white bandage over it, telling him not to go in the water for a while. He nodded, pulling his shift on that he had had to take off earlier, and walked out of the recreation building, not watching as Kimimaro got his tattoo. _

_As soon as he was out of sight, he learned against the wall, and let the tears of pain out finally. _

Sasuke rubbed the tattoo quietly, breathing in deeply before he stood up, and finished getting undressed, starting his shower and stepping in as soon as the water got to the right temperature.

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Naruto stretched his arms up above his head leisurely, yawning widely as he sat up, blinking a little stupidly, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts and sighed, slipping the covers off of him and throwing his legs over the side of his bed, his feet planted firmly on the ground. 'I hate mornings…' He thought, sighing as he stood up, scratching his bare chest as he padded out of his room and into the hall, going towards the bathroom in nothing but his boxers. They were a dark; navy blue with red foxes imprinted on them and the saying, 'Like a Fox!' randomly scattered to make the pattern. Kakashi had bought it as a prank present, saying Kyuubi would be flattered.

Let's just say he was in the hospital for three days after that when Kyuubi learned of what the silver haired English teacher had done.

He turned the knobs of the shower to the proper temperature, and stripped himself of his only article of clothing, stepping into the stand-up shower and closing the door behind him, letting the water run down his tanned body before he grabbed his shampoo, squirted some into his hand and rubbed them together, before scrubbing the shampoo into his dampened blonde hair, closing his eyes.

His thoughts, as they always did nowadays in the shower, wandered to a certain raven head with dark eyes and a past that hurt him more than any kind of knife could. He always felt a little weird whenever he thought about the Uchiha; his heart would clench in a painful but good way, and his stomach would flip flop and twist, fluttering like there was a hundred butterflies in there trying to get out. His dreams about Sasuke were also…Weird. Provocative and dreams that he couldn't speak lightly around Kakashi because he would tell them to Jiraiya to write in his next book of 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

Sighing, the leader of the Bijuu gang rinsed the rest of the shampoo out of his locks and grabbed the conditioner, scrubbing it furiously into his hair as he tried to forget the dream he had recently had. A dream that…Well, he wasn't even going to continue thinking, so he changed the direction of his thoughts to a different direction.

Sasuke would be hanging around them again today; something he was really looking forward to. He felt…Lighter near the Uchiha; though he didn't know why. An Emo died in his pants, most likely, making him an Emo himself.

Sighing quietly, he turned off the shower, stepping out and grabbing a towel, wrapping it around his waist before he grabbed another towel and walked out of the bathroom while drying off his hair, water droplets trailing down his well toned chest, abdomen and arms. He stepped into his room, throwing his hair towel to the side as he walked to his closet.

Today would definitely be an interesting day.

If not, as Shikamaru would say, troublesome.

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_Rin and Obito were talking quietly amongst each other as Kakashi bounced a young Naruto on his knee, the blonde laughing and squealing with glee. Suddenly, there was a knock on their door, and the three young adults looked sharply at it, eyes all narrowed dangerously. Rin stood up then, smoothing out the skirts of her brown Bohemian skirt and walked to the door, sliding open the little slot and looking out to see a young female looking boy with long black hair and dark brown eyes standing beside a taller man with short, spiked black hair and grey eyes, bandages wrapped around the bottom half of his face._

"_I hear this is a shelter for half Japanese people." The man said his voice deep and gruff. Rin slid the slot closed and opened the door carefully, letting the two people in. "My name is Zabuza Momochi. This is my charge, Haku Shitashi." Rin smiled and nodded. _

"_Pleasure to meet you; you came here for shelter?" They both nodded, and Haku decided to speak up for the first time. _

"_I heard from people passing by in the street that there was a gang of people all forming together. The only pattern was that they were all half Japanese people. American people who are racist said they were most likely forming a sort of shelter or home for them so that they could be safe from those who hate them." His voice was smooth; almost feminine. Rin smiled at him and patted his head; he was around Naruto's age. _

"_Well, you've come to the right place; there are a few more people in this gang, including those three over there; Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Rin Itsumi." She smiled kindly. "Welcome to the Bijuu Gang." _

Naruto sighed as he kneeled in front of the memoriam again, tracing the names of Haku and Zabuza, smiling sadly. "Haku…My first true friend my age." He said softly, and then closed his eyes. "Why'd you have to die?"

He then sighed, standing up and waving at the memorial stone, walking away from it calmly as the sun rose higher into the sky, brightening up the beginning of the last day before the weekend.

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Sasuke was sitting on the roof quietly, his knees drawn up to his chest as Sakura and Ino, who made a rare appearance on the roof that day, spoke on either side of him about random topics, once in a while trying to involve him into the conversation. He usually stayed out of it, though.

He felt eyes on him, and looked over to see Gaara staring at him blankly. He blinked at him, raising an eyebrow in question, and Gaara smirked slightly, shaking his head as he turned back to look at the floor, waiting for Naruto to come up to the roof. It seemed as though the blonde dobe was late today, something that wasn't relatively new. He heard the blonde and pink haired girls laugh on either side of him, and he quietly stood up, walking over to where Shikamaru sat with Neji, typing away on his laptop while Neji text something on his cell phone. Both looked up at him as he sat down on the roof's floor quietly, looking at nothing in particular.

"They were annoying me." He said simply as an explanation, and Neji smiled slightly, nodding while Shikamaru just shrugged in indifference, and they both went back to what they had been doing.

Suddenly, Gaara looked up, making everyone else look up as Naruto climbed up onto the roof at last, a serene look on his face as if he had been thinking before his face broke out into a grin and he waved lazily at everyone. "Hallo."

Sasuke stood up at that, and walked over to the blonde, standing in front of him as Naruto looked down at him oddly, cocking his head to the side. "Yes?" Sasuke sighed as he looked up at Naruto staring down at him with a questioning look, an eyebrow raised slightly above the other.

"Aniki…Told me to tell you whenever I had a memory…" He said softly. "I don't know why; he just told me to."

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms as he looked at him with a thoughtful frown. "What memory?"

"My tattoo." He said softly. "It was the day we all got our tattoos…When the gang had first been formed. The tattooist…Mentioned Anko."

"The co-ed gym teacher; right, of course. She had once been Orochimaru's pride and joy…But she wasn't bitter enough for his tastes. And she also left because she grew to hate the man a lot. She still has the tattoo; that's why she wears the high collar jacket all the time." Sasuke nodded in understanding, finally getting why she had told him about Orochimaru being pissed at him that day. He then sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked to the side. "That all…?"

"No…" Sasuke whispered quietly, closing his eyes. "But there are too many to tell you all at once."

Naruto simply nodded, placing a hand on Sasuke's head and ruffling up his hair, smiling a little. "Tell me when you can."

Sasuke nodded. "I will."

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_Naruto and Haku sat side by side, playing with marbles quietly as the adults spoke to each other quietly, glancing at the children once in a while, before speaking to each other again. Naruto either didn't notice it or didn't care, but Haku was a bit unnerved about it; and it showed. _

_A few more minutes later, when Haku had glanced at the adults for what seemed like the hundredth time now, Naruto sighed and looked up at the female looking boy, smiling at him reassuringly. "Don't worry about them; they're just explaining to your guardian something about me." He said softly, looking at him as Haku looked at him with wide, curious eyes. _

"_What about you?" He asked, curious to know more about this blonde haired boy in front of him. _

"_I have another side…It's a very dangerous side…" Naruto looked down at his marbles. "They're warning your guardian…In case that side ever breaks out and hurts someone…Or kills someone…" _

_Haku looked at the pained expression on Naruto's face, and placed his hand over the blonde's fisted hand, smiling at him softly. "I'll be there to help you change back." He said quietly. Naruto looked at him, before a grin broke out on his face. _

"_Thanks."_

Naruto shook his head, a hand on his temple as he listened to Yamato Tsukishima, the World History teacher, talk about something that he could really care less about. Even though he acted like an idiot during school, he was actually on a level higher in intellect than everyone else; except, of course, for Shikamaru. But his IQ was over 200.

He looked out the window quietly, remembering Haku and his gentle smiles; his quiet laughter; promises that he never spoke. He was a gentle speaker with a large vocabulary; even for someone so young, his speech had always been elegant. And he cared for Zabuza a lot; so much that he would go as far as die for him…

And he did. He died for Zabuza…And Naruto had never forgiven the man. Zabuza, of course, was still alive. He was the male gym teacher, and he had often tried to talk to Naruto and tried to ask for his forgiveness, knowing how the blonde kept grudges.

Naruto would always push him away, though, and walk away from him, leaving the man to stand there, looking regretfully at his back. He had sworn the day Haku died…

That he would never forgive him.

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Sasuke hugged himself briefly, shaking his head before he started up the stairs to the roof, lunch bag in hand as Neji walked up behind him, Shikamaru ahead of him with Chouji, who was talking about something and eating chips like it was the last day on earth or something. They all got up onto the top finally, and Sasuke looked around briefly, before he sat by the stairs on the floor, opening his bag and taking out his thermos of soup quietly, opening it and sipping it, reveling in the warmth that had stayed there since it was packed that morning by his older brother.

A shadow stopped in front of him, and he looked up to see Naruto with his arms crossed, looking down at him with a soft smile, his head tilted to the side. "Why are you sitting all alone?" He asked, crouching in front of him so that they were eye level. Sasuke shrugged lightly, looking to the side as he tried to avoid those blue eyes that had been haunting him at night recently. "Well, teme?"

"I don't feel like idle chit chat right now." He said softly, and Naruto grinned slightly. He was starting to sound a little more normal; that was a good sign. The dark boy then looked over at the leader of the gang and his dark eyes pierced through Naruto, making the blonde blink stupidly for a moment. "That means you too, dobe."

Naruto thought over what he had just said, before he laughed and nodded, standing up and looking down at him. "Enjoy your quiet lunch, then." He said, lifting a hand as a farewell sign and walked over to where Gaara was sitting, looking at him curiously. The red head's green eyes looked at Sasuke's obsidian ones, before he smiled slightly and looked up at Naruto as he sat down, saying something that made him shrug his shoulders slightly.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head as he ate, closing his eyes. His quiet lunch…Hn, like his mind would let him.

_He sat on the park bench quietly, curled up into a ball and sniffing quietly, looking at nothing in particular in front of him. Suddenly, a shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see a pale man with golden eyes and long black hair looking down at him, purple lines tattooed by his eyes and along his nose. The man smiled at him, crouching in front of him so that they were eye level, tilting his head to the side. "Why are you sitting all alone?" _

"_Because no one wants to sit with me; because I'm not good enough for them." The man smiled slightly at him, reminding the young boy of a snake before they struck. _

"_I think you're good enough. Why don't you come with me? I'll give you a home." _

"_I have a home." _

"_Obviously not one good enough to be filled with your presence, hmm?" Sasuke looked at him carefully. "Well?" _

Sasuke sighed, opening his eyes and sipping his soup again, looking at the blonde haired dobe as he spoke with the red head, then sighed.

Not good enough…

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He silently stepped into the old recreation building, looking around as old memories filled his mind, making him smile pleasantly, which in itself was never a good thing. He then looked over to where the meeting room had once been, and there he saw all of his old members having a meeting of their own, Kidoumaru seemingly the leader of the Oto Gang now. He laughed quietly as Kabuto stepped up behind him, smiling slightly as he pushed up his glasses, and both made their way towards them, Orochimaru eyeing them all and seeing how well they had grown. He rose an eyebrow at some of their hair; pink? Orange? Purple? Indeed.

"I see you've lived well while I was gone." He said, making the meeting stop, and all eyes turn to him, wide and surprised. "Yes…I am back."

There was a silence for a few minutes, before everyone turned to him and bowed to him in the traditional Japanese way, seeing as they were all half Japanese as well. "Welcome home, Orochimaru."

He smiled.

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_Naruto and Haku watched the adults fight off a bunch of thugs behind their hiding spot, Haku looking antsy and worried for Zabuza. Naruto took his hand quietly, smiling at him reassuringly. "He'll be fine! Zabuza-san is strong." Haku looked back at him, and smiled a little uneasily, nodding as he held his friend's hand back tightly, needing the reassurance. _

_The reassurance was broken, though, when Zabuza was surrounded by three of them, two of them holding him down while the third one pulled out a switchblade, flicking it open with a flick of his wrist, smirking at Zabuza who looked at him with narrowed eyes, muttering something the children couldn't hear. Naruto was watching with fear, when suddenly Haku broke out of his grasp, running towards him and jumping in front of him just as the thug swiped the blade towards Zabuza's neck, making his get the blow instead. His head was partially severed as he dropped down dead, his blood pooling around his head and the feet of those around him, his eyes wide and blank. _

_Zabuza looked down in pure horror, before he heard a growl coming from where the two had been hiding, and he looked over to see Naruto standing there, his eyes a bright red with cat slits instead of the normal pupils, the lines on his face deep and his eyeteeth sharper than usual. His nails had lengthened into claws and he rushed out at the thugs, ripping them apart and killing them by snapping their necks or crushing their air tubes, throwing their bodies to the side. He stopped, looking up at Zabuza, his eyes narrowed as he fell to Haku's side, placing his hand on his friend's cold cheek before closing his eyes quietly. _

"_I'll never forgive you…" He hissed angrily, before he stood up and ran away, Rin calling his name and Kakashi running after him with Obito. Zabuza dropped to his knees, picking up Haku and cradling him quietly, lowering his head. _

"_I'm sorry…" _

Zabuza sighed as he looked out the window in his office, clenching his pencil tightly as he remembered that day vividly, before looking up at the boy that stood before him, hands in his pockets lazily. "Naruto…You're dismissed."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, before shrugging indifferently, and turned, walking out, not even looking back when Zabuza watched him leave with regret in his eyes. He didn't care about what that man felt.

He was the reason his best friend was dead.


	10. Not Interested

A/N: GRAH! Fear me, for I have RETURNED! With an EARLY update, since I didn't update last week. SORRY! School and all. I'll ty to update Wednesday, alright? Alright! Anyhow, I enjoyed writing this chapter. Even though it took me a while. I'm a procrastinator I am, I am.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Sasuke watched Itachi as he ran around the house looking for clothes, his eyes a little more alive than they had been for the past couple of days. He was wearing different clothes than what he had worn to school; a grey turtle neck and black dress pants. His hair had been brushed as well.

They were going to go out to some type of restaurant that night for surviving a full week of school, and then during the weekend they were going to find Sasuke a job. Itachi, even though he noticed Sasuke's progress in his mental health, wanted him to stick around the Bijuu Gang for a little longer. Sasuke understood, of course, but still; why couldn't he stay around his brother? Unless he wasn't telling him something important…

Shaking his head, he smiled a little bit when Itachi yanked on his long hair that was out of the usual ponytail, throwing random clothes out of his closet as Sasuke sat patiently on his bed, chuckling silently at his Aniki's expense. Itachi then spun around, his dark eyes meeting those of his little brother's, and he pointed at him.

"You. You're picking out my clothes."

"Aniki needs help getting dressed? This is black mail material." Sasuke said, smiling slightly as Itachi rolled his eyes and side stepped to let Sasuke look through his hellhole that he called a closet.

Sasuke shuffled through some of the clothes, before pulling out a pair of black dress pants, passing them to his boxer clad brother. He then walked over to his drawers, shuffling through the messily shoved in shirts, and pulled out a red silk long sleeved collared shirt, passing him that as well. "Get a pair of black socks and wear black sneakers or whatever and you'll be fine." He said, smiling at him, before he walked out to let Itachi get dressed.

He sighed softly, leaning against the wall near the front door, having already pulled on his shoes and holding his jacket over his arm. Closing his eyes, he let the silence consume him, his thoughts wandering.

_A young Sasuke ran up to his older brother, hugging him tightly around the legs, a worried look on his scrunched up face. "Aniki, you worried me!" _

"_Forgive me, otouto, I was out late again." Itachi said softly, smoothing back his hair before he bent down, picking up the little rug rat and smiling at him, flicking his nose playfully. _

"_You were supposed to play with me…" Sasuke said, looking down as he pouted, his small hands fisting in Itachi's T-shirt. Itachi blinked, before he sighed, suddenly remembering. _

"_I'm so sorry, otouto." He said, hugging him tightly and burying his face into his brother's hair. "I really wanted to keep my promise…But I was busy." _

"_You're always busy." Sasuke whispered frowning slightly. "You can never keep your promises…" He felt his brother tighten his grip on him and closed his eyes. _

"_But I forgive you." _

"Sasuke…?" Sasuke blinked, looking up at Itachi who looked at him, his coat already on, waving his hand in front of him as he opened the door. "Come on, otouto, let's get going; we got a dinner to get to!"

Sasuke smiled at him and nodded, pulling on his coat. As he walked by him, he whispered softly, "I forgive you," before he stepped out into the hallway, going over to the stairs instead of the elevator. Itachi blinked, before he smiled softly, and followed the younger Uchiha.

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Neji opened his eyes from his meditation, looking to his right to see that Hinata was not meditating beside him. Strange…

Suddenly, he heard coughing, and stood up, frowning as he went to find the source of the horrible sound. He slid open the shoji door, and looked down to see Hinata on her knees in front of it, coughing into her fist. His pale eyes widened and he bent down, helping her up to her feet before he gave her his support. "Hinata…What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, looking at her. Hinata shook her head, coughing harshly again, before she pulled away her hand, looking at the blood on it. She winced slightly when Neji's arm tightened around her, and he blinked, before pulling down her shirt on her shoulders, his eyes widening.

"Hinata, we have to get you to a hospital. This can't be healthy!"

"Neji-niisan…" She whispered softly. "You know what it is…"

"I know; and I can't stand loosing someone else I love to it!"

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Gaara sat in his room, looking at nothing in particular. He could hear the music blasting out of Kankuro's room, and Temari was babbling on and on to one of her friends on the phone, yammering about something or other. Soon they would turn off all the things they were doing and pack it in for the night, leaving their little red headed brother alone to think to himself and prowl the hallways silently as to not wake them.

He often watched his brother and sister sleep; thinking that it was interesting and fascinating how they could just close their eyes and drift away into another world, leaving themselves completely vulnerable. And they were in a gang?

He sighed softly, looking out the window in his room, for once the curtain opened instead of closed. That's because he wanted to see the sky bleed red when the sun set that night. He sighed as he heard Kankuro turn off his music, and he heard Temari get off of the phone, and he knew they would come soon to say goodnight to him and wish him sweet dreams. Of course, these weren't the kind of dreams were you slept.

Gaara had dreams. They happened when he was awake, but he wouldn't call them daydreams, because they didn't happen when his mind wandered. It was like he really did fall asleep, but not really. If he fell asleep, _he'd _come out and take over him…

He shook his head, closing his black lidded eyes. No; that would never happen. Because he would never sleep.

And that's all there is to it.

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Sasuke sat at a table with his brother that a waiter showed them to, and he took the menu with a small 'thank you' before he opened it and looked at the food that they would serve. He saw Itachi do the same from his peripheral vision, and mentally smiled; they really were much alike.

Sighing quietly, he decided on a simple meal, before he put down his menu, and looked around the restaurant. His eyes immediately landed on a head of brown, and brown eyes met his, before the familiar female and walked over to him, bowing to him slightly.

"Hey Sasuke," Tenten greeted smiling at him pleasantly. "What are you doing here?"

"Having supper; yourself?" Sasuke asked looking at her as Itachi glanced at them from above his menu and snickered behind it, pretending to read as he listened.

"I work here! I guess that means I'll be your waiter tonight." Tenten laughed, smiling at him and then bowing in respect to his brother. "What would you like tonight?"

Sasuke, instead of answering, frowned a little. "Aren't you…A little young?"

"My parents own the restaurant, so they gave me a job here." She explained, flipping back one of her braids. "Anyhow, what'll you have Sasuke? Itachi-san?"

Sasuke blinked, before he sighed and looked at his menu again, before ordering a Coke© and the seafood plate. Itachi ordered a Diet Coke© and the T-bone steak with potatoes and fries. Tenten wrote these down, smiling at them, before she walked away.

"She's nice." Itachi said, smiling at his little brother who shrugged lightly, looking to the side. "Why she in a gang?"

"I don't know." Sasuke mumbled, and then blinked. "How do you know she's in a gang?"

"I have my resources." Itachi said offhandedly. Sasuke sighed, before he smiled and nodded. "Anyhow, after this we're finding you a job and you're gonna LIKE IT, whether you want to or not."

"Just don't get me a job at McDonald's. My pride WILL be shattered."

"It needs to be brought down a notch anyway."

Itachi avoided the flying spoon.

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It was lonely in her house. But that was normal.

Sighing softly, the pink haired teenager stood up from the couch to go answer the phone that was ringing for the third time now, knowing she shouldn't have ignored them for so long. Taking a in a deep breath from her nose, she picked it up and turned it on.

"Hello?"

A couple minutes of silence.

"Sorry, Mother." Of course it would be her mother and not her father. Her father was kind, usually. But he was also a wimp and would never stand up to his own wife. Her mother was a horrible woman, though.

"Of course." They were in Tahiti this time apparently. A package for her would arrive soon with gifts.

"Could I get a roommate? I'll put away everything; it'll just be easier to pay the rent." She had changed the subject; she didn't want to hear her mother's voice for much longer.

"Yes I'll put away anything valuable. Don't worry."

A few more minutes of silence, and finally she hung up, closing her eyes tightly.

She then let go of the phone, and walked away, closing her front door with a silent 'click'.

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Naruto sighed as he stretched out on his bed, staring up at the roof quietly. He had his nightlight on, so that it wasn't pitch black in there. That's why his punching bag was saved from another beat down.

He sighed softly as he turned onto his side, looking out at nothing as he thought of Zabuza. What the hell had he wanted? Just to see his face? He snorted, closing his eyes. Damn him; feeling guilty. He should feel guilty! His best friend was dead because of him!

He then sighed, placing a hand on his forehead and rubbing it. No; he couldn't loose his cool now. He had taken so long to develop it and he couldn't loose it now because memories of the gentle hearted boy had returned; their meeting; their time together; his death.

Curling up into the fetal position, he opened his eyes and stared out at the darkness, the soft light glowing to give him some sight. He sighed quietly, looking at nothing in particular, before he sat up and looked out the window, watching as the sun was slowly starting to set. 'Maybe…I should go see…Should go see them all.' He thought, frowning slightly.

"I bet they'll try to kill me as soon as I step foot in there."

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Tenten bowed to them as they left, waving happily to them and calling out to Sasuke that she'd see him at school on Monday. He waved back to her lazily as they walked out, nodding silently before they were found walking side by side on the sidewalk, talking to each other lightly as Itachi's trench coat swayed behind him. The hem of his hit Sasuke's leg and the younger Uchiha rose an eyebrow at Itachi who grinned and shrugged. Sasuke just rolled his eyes, smiling, before shoving his hands into the pocket of his black coat that ended at his hips.

"So," Itachi started casually, meaning he started it by not looking at Sasuke, looking at the sky and his hands were behind his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes again at his brother. Really, he had learned that was just an act years ago. "What kind of job are you looking for?"

"A quiet one that pays well. Something that doesn't have to deal with people too much; and something that no one expects me to get. But something I enjoy."

"Pretty specific, there."

"I have fangirls to run away from, Aniki; and they're really scary."

"Just tell them you're not interested!"

Sasuke stared at him with the most deadpanned look that Itachi had ever seen in his life. And he had seen quite a few. "What? You _know _it's true! I mean, seriously; you're SO not interested in girls."

"No, I'm not. My hormones haven't kicked in yet."

"Yes they have!" Itachi sang out. Sasuke shuddered; his brother could not hold a note worth his life. And apparently, his life was worth a lot, so…If he had to sing one day to live, he was incredibly SCREWED. "You're just not interested in girls."

"Neither are you." Sasuke pointed out, glaring at him.

"I'm asexual." Sasuke blinked at his brother who sounded so serious right now it was slightly frightening, before he sighed. His emotions were changing…And he had had three glasses of wine. Ah; it all made sense now.

"Alright, so what does that make _me_, exactly?" Sasuke asked, looking at him. He paused momentarily before warily following his brother when a completely INNOCENT (AKA: EVIL) look came upon his face.

"Why…" He started lightly, smiling at his little brother. Sasuke gulped nervously.

"You're gay, of course!"

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Hinata sat on the check up table, her hands in her lap as she looked at the ground, Neji sitting in a waiting chair across from her stiffly, staring at the wall as if he could drill a hole with only his glare. The doctor came in then, looking at both Hyuugas.

"I have the results here; but I can't tell you until you have your designated guardian with you." He explained. Neji shot up from his seat, his gaze growing heated and more intense than before.

"I _am _her designated guardian!" He hissed. The doctor looked at him, before shaking his head.

"That would be Hiashi Hyuuga, her father." He said, looking at him. "That is Ms. Hyuuga's guardian, Mr. Hyuuga." Neji gritted his teeth angrily.

"U-umm…Excuse me…" Bother males looked at Hinata in surprise. "He…Neji-n-niisan does take c-care of me…In my fa-father's p-place." The doctor looked at her, before he once again shook his head.

"No; you must be with your guardian. And besides, Ms. Hyuuga…You already know the results." Hinata winced when her cousin turned shocked eyes at her. She then nodded and slipped off of the table, walking out of the room silently with Neji behind her, the older of the two closing the door silently behind him before turning his pale gaze onto her.

"Hinata…?"

"I'm sorry, Neji-niisan." She said her voice surprisingly clear. "I know you don't want to hear this…"

"Hinata, don't say it…" Neji whispered his voice almost in a begging tone.

"I have what Uncle Hizashi has."

"Damn it, NO!"

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Sasuke was standing out on the balcony outside of the apartment, Itachi sleeping peacefully on the couch in front of the TV which was on some type of anime show. He sighed softly, closing his eyes as he thought over what his Aniki had told him earlier.

It would make sense; why he was so apathetic towards women and why he really didn't care, and yet he felt his stomach twist around an attractive guy. The real question was…

How the hell did Itachi figure this out before him? Really; it wasn't like Itachi STALKED him or anything to figure it out…

Unless that's what he did; but Sasuke knew his Aniki wasn't THAT freaky. And he was only freaky in the mornings and when he was drunk. He sighed softly, shaking his head and looking out at the city lights that had alighted the entire neighborhood lie fireflies as crickets somewhere chirped and the soft sounds of music from one of the apartments drifted through the quiet air.

He then smiled softly, his eyes softening from their hard, thoughtful look. Maybe the city life…Really wouldn't be that bad.

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Naruto stepped into a dark room in a wet, cold building, shuddering slightly at the sudden wind, before he heard a distinct sound of a door closing. He looked around the dark room, shuddering slightly and he heard footsteps come towards him. Suddenly an arm was wrapped around the front of his chest from behind, and he sighed softly, closing his eyes as he let relaxation take over.

"Sorry I haven't visited in a while." He mumbled softly. He felt lips on the back of his neck, and he opened his eyes, turning to look back at the person behind him. "You're happy to see me. I'm surprised."

The man behind him was small; he had short black hair and black eyes, and he looked more feminine than masculine. His smile was also oh-so-fake.

He was also a mute.

"Sai, how have you been?" Naruto asked, turning around and holding the boy's shoulders loosely. Sai signed something out slowly so that Naruto could read it, and the blonde nodded, smiling slightly at him. "Yamato-san has been taking good care of you, then." Sai nodded, smiling at him. Naruto smiled a little sadly, seeing no real emotion on his face, before he pushed back some strands of hair from his face.

He then stepped back, looking around as Sai took hold of his hand and led him towards a door with light streaming out from underneath the crack. Sai opened the door and there sat a man with black hair and dark eyes reading a book with glasses on the tip of his nose. "Hey Yamato-san."

Yamato looked back, blinking, before a grin broke out across his face. "Naruto! We haven't seen you here in years; how are you?" He asked, putting down his book and walking over, enveloping the boy in a hug. Naruto returned it with one arm, his other hand occupied by Sai's slimmer and paler hand.

Yamato Tsukishima was an alias the man before him used to hide his real identity. His real name was Tenzou Kishimoto, and he was once part of a large and powerful gang along with Sai called 'ROOT'. He had quit ROOT early, and had gone on to be in a different gang called 'ANBU', a gang Kakashi had once been a part of, as well as Itachi. But ANBU had broken apart to different gangs and some didn't even return to gangs, going into hiding instead. Tenzou had changed his name to Yamato and became a World History teacher at Konoha High after speaking to Tsunade, who knew of his background and could really care less.

Sai tugged on Naruto's hand, and the blonde looked down at him in confusion as Sai signed something out. Naruto laughed sheepishly at that as Yamato stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "He knows not what he signs!"

"Who do you like, Naruto?" Yamato asked cheekily, grinning at him. Naruto glared at the older man before he sighed and shrugged slightly.

"New kid." Sai blinked, his mouth dropping open in shock and Yamato doubled over in laughter.

Sai went to Konoha as well; he was in third year like Naruto but he took a special class with one teacher because he was mute and couldn't speak so they did this for him so he wouldn't be ostracized. He wasn't part of Naruto's gang, having been in ROOT until it had been destroyed and was now hiding along with Yamato in this supposedly abandoned house in the slums of the city.

Naruto laughed at Sai's expression before he sighed softly. "He interests me." He said gently, closing his eyes. "And…I feel close to him. He's Sharingan's little brother, after all; and you know my relationship with that guy."

"He's your closest friend since Haku." Naruto winced at the mention of the gentle boy, before he nodded. Yamato placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, before letting Sai hug him quietly. He knew that Sai didn't really feel emotion, and he was mute because of things he had seen and did when he was younger, but the older man knew that the boy really cared for the blonde. Naruto was the only one that was able to drag emotion out of him.

Naruto then sighed to them, his hands behind his head. "So…I guess I should catch up a bit, eh?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tayuya curled up into the fetal position to make herself look smaller while Ukon and Sakon both stood in front of her and Kimimaro laid down next to her out cold as Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kidoumaru and Jiroubo looked at them with disgust in their eyes. Kin, Zaku and Dosu all looked confused and scared as Orochimaru scowled at him, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Traitorous little wenches," he hissed, leering at them as he stepped closer, pushing the twins down roughly by their heads. "You are SPIES."

They all winced at him, and Tayuya whimpered as she unfolded herself and cradled Kimimaro's head in her lap, stroking back his pale hair before looking up at Orochimaru and biting her bottom lip. This man before her really did frighten her.

"Get out of my sight." He hissed dangerously. "Before I kill you."

They all scrambled up, Ukon and Sakon picking up Kimimaro before they ran out of the recreational centre, running towards their only shelter…Yamato's place.

Orochimaru spat on the ground where they had once sat, and looked at the others. "It looks like I can only place my trust in you now…Hm?"

They all bowed to him, Kabuto grinning slightly from his bowed position. Orochimaru grinned at them.

"Good; we have a mission." They all straightened, looking at him.

"We're going to kill Uchiha Sasuke."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yamato and Naruto were talking amongst each other, Sai listening quietly and signing out something once in a while when they heard the door slam open and hurried footsteps rushing towards them. Naruto stood up when he heard panting and turned just in time to see the spies of Oto Gang fall in front of them, Kimimaro unconscious.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, running to them and looking at them, wiping some blood off of Tayuya's cut scalp. He frowned slightly; Temari wouldn't be happy to see her friend like this.

"Orochimaru; he's back. And he found out about us."

Naruto's eyes widened and Sai and Yamato froze behind them.

"Ah, SHIT."


	11. Comforting

A/N: A weekend in the life of the 'My Demons' gang! WHOOT! Alright, anyhow; for all those waiting for the romance between Naruto and Sasuke, (or Sasuke and Naruto, whoever you prefer to be seme) it WILL happen! Promise! I just have a little more backdrop to give and some more questions to give you before I decide to start updating on their...Uhh...BLOOMING, relationship? (Gai...Would be so happy, and he'd be like, 'FLAMES OF YOOOUTH!' and all that crap.) ANYHOW! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Sasuke groggily sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes childishly as his shirt slipped a little bit off of his left shoulder, him having not done up the first three buttons last night when he fell into his bed, exhausted. He climbed out of his bed, his pants low on his hips from his odd twisting and turning that night, the hems under his heels as he walked out of his room. Itachi looked up, smiling slightly at the childish looking Sasuke, his hair mussed up, a small pout on his lips and a dazed look to his dark eyes.

He then pulled out his disposable camera and took a picture, planning to give it to Naruto later and get himself his own copy to use as blackmail.

Yeah, he was SO evil.

"Hey, otouto," he greeted, watching as said boy looked up at him, blinking a little, before he waved silently and yawned into his head. "Still tired, eh? You're up really early."

"Weird dream woke up a few times." He mumbled softly, padding to the kitchen table and sitting down at it as Itachi filled a bowl of cereal in front of him with milk, then handed him a spoon. "Thanks."

"Don't throw it at me like you did last night." Itachi said playfully, before he bit into his toast, reading his novel. Sasuke looked at it, raising his eyebrow at the title. Itachi blinked, looking over at him, before looking at the title himself. "'Wicked'. You know, like that play?"

Sasuke nodded, eating his cereal quietly as Itachi read his book again, munching on his toast. A few minutes of silence fell upon them, before the older decided to break it yet again. "Found you a job; it's a book store called Konoha Books. The old man that runs it is really nice. You have a meeting with him at 1." Itachi said, looking at the clock as he said this. "Meaning…You have….six hours." Sasuke looked up as well, blinking at the time. It was seven in the morning? He went to bed at like, 3 last night!

He groaned, closing his eyes and sighing, before he finished off his cereal, standing up and putting his dishes in the sink, filling them with water before he turned the tap off and sighed, stretching his arms above his head tiredly and arching his back, getting rid of any morning muscle cramps. He then yawned again into his hand, and walked to his room, planning on getting a shower and getting rid of his sleepiness once and for all. He had to meet his new boss in six hours; and even though he could very well sleep in for three more hours, Sasuke was already awake. He didn't really see the point in trying to fall asleep again.

He sighed, entering his bathroom and kicking the door closed, cutting himself off from the rest of the world…Briefly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata sighed softly as she nursed Tayuya's wounds quietly, Sakura looking over Kimimaro and checking his pulse, since he still had yet to wake up. Naruto stood at the doorway, watching the two women work silently. Hinata turned her head, her pale eyes looking at him, and she smiled softly. "Yes?"

"You look tired, Hinata; maybe you should be resting as well." Naruto commented, and Hinata bit her lip, before she smiled and shook her head. "Are you sure…? Neji looks really worried…" He glanced over at the other Hyuuga, seeing Neji staring at the floor with his hands folded in his lap, his face emotionless. "Oh, at least, as worried as he can get in that state."

Hinata sighed, looking at him quietly. "I'm fine." She said softly, and then went back to helping the young brown haired teenager with her injuries. The pink haired girl looked back at Naruto as he frowned slightly, his eyes narrowed, before he walked away. She sighed then, looking back at Kimimaro, before going over to the twins. She knew how Naruto could get; when he was determined to find out what was wrong, he'd do anything in his power.

And his power was pretty damn influential.

Ukon looked up at her, grinning slightly at her. "Worried about something, princess?" He asked her quietly. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, fisting her hand and placing it on her hip as she looked at him critically. "Don't mind the nickname; I call a lot of girls strange pet names."

"I'm no pet." Sakura reminded him, before she started swathing some bandages on his wrist. He watched her work quietly, before looking over at Sakon who smiled at him gently. He then sighed and nodded, holding still for her. Sakura smiled at him, patting his head, before she went over to work on Sakon's ankle.

Meanwhile, Naruto was standing beside a sitting Shikamaru, the hacker's lab top in his lap as he went clacking away about something or other. Naruto was frowning thoughtfully, wondering if he should just ask Neji what was wrong…Then thought better of it, knowing that the older Hyuuga would never go for it. He then glanced down at Shikamaru, wondering if he should look into their personal files, before mentally shaking his head yet again. He'd break the trust he had worked so hard for.

Sighing, he finally just decided that he'd have to wait for things to unfold in front of his eyes, much like he had to do for the Uchiha he was currently infatuated with. Yeah, he admitted that he liked the boy; would even go so far as to call it a 'crush'.

Not like he'd say this OUTLOUD, of course.

Okay, so maybe he would. This is Naruto, remember?

Shikamaru finally glanced up at the blonde leader, and sighed, closing his lap top. "You want to know something?"

"I don't want to break a fragile trust, so no." Shikamaru looked at him, before he grinned. So much like Naruto.

"Would you like to know anything at all?"

Naruto blinked, looking down at him. "Yeah; where'd those medical files of the Uchiha go?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Shikamaru remembered the night he found out about Sasuke's physical and mental health. He remembered being terrified reading it all and he remembered not wanting to show Naruto what he had found. He would destroy all of what he thought he knew of the boy.

Sasuke was a sadist; a masochist; whatever you wanted to call it. He had an unhealthy obsession with power when he was younger and he had often pushed himself away from other people, preferring the life of a loner.

His lungs and liver were almost completely destroyed, though they were getting better, and he had had three operations and two stomach pumps in his life. And this was when he was a tiny kid; not a stupid teenager but a kid who should grimace at the SMELL of alcohol.

And of course, the forced sexual intercourse which had almost ripped him inside out and had scarred him for life, leaving him with nightmare after nightmare and a higher heartbeat than any normal person.

Shikamaru didn't want Naruto Uzumaki to know all of this, so he decided to keep it a secret. For now, at least, until Naruto found out he was lying. Then he'd have to explain himself.

"Couldn't break in; they must've upped their security in the hospital." Shikamaru said lightly, shrugging a bit. "Sorry; I'll try harder next time."

"Of course," Naruto said, looking down at him with a small smile. "You've always been so lazy."

Shikamaru looked up at him, and then smiled weakly.

Yeah; he's always been lazy.

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Sasuke brushed off his dark blue long sleeved shirt and sighed, opening the doors to Konoha Books quietly. He looked around the quiet, small and quant book store, before he spotted a man sitting behind the counter, smoking a pipe silently as he read a book that most likely came from the very shelves of the store.

He was slightly bald, with a pointed beard on his chin, with bags under his dark eyes and liver spots showing his age, but he had a small, almost knowing smile on his worn out face that made Sasuke think he still had spunk in him and could most likely take him down in any sort of fight, even if he didn't look like a fighter. He had one a plain white shirt and black pants, and a red name tag pronouncing his name: Masashi Sarutobi.

Sarutobi? As in…Asuma Sarutobi?

"Umm…Excuse me?" Sasuke said quietly, since he was in a book store and all. "I'm here for an interview…?"

"Sasuke Uchiha, I presume," Sarutobi started, looking up at him with old, grey eyes, that knowing smile still present. "Japanese relation?"

"My uhh, father's side, sir." Sasuke replied, looking at the older man oddly.

"Right, right, of course. As you can see by my name tag, my name is Masashi Sarutobi. Please just call me Sarutobi, and no 'Mr'. Makes me feel excruciatingly old. And yes, I know I'm old, but that doesn't mean I have to feel it." He stood up then, showing that he still had a straight, proud back, and that he was relatively tall, a few inches taller than Sasuke. But he had stooped down in his age whether he wanted to know it or not.

"You're going to be my employee here, yes? The only one; I don't take many job offers. The shop is small, so I never though I'd need help. Now I just need someone to carry around the old boxes filled with books and file them according to the name of the author and genre."

Sarutobi took a close looked at Sasuke's lithe frame, before he raised an eyebrow. "Will you be up to the task of heavy lifting?" He asked him critically. Sasuke saw the challenge in the old man's eyes, and smirked slightly, seeing Sarutobi smile his knowing smile. "Good; you start within the hour. Get a nametag and write your name. Welcome to Konoha Books."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi leaned against the door quietly, looking at the pale man inside.

What was once beautifully tanned skin was now a sickly colour, a mock of the original. What were once living, bright dark eyes were now dead and staring at nothing, though the smile on the man's face showed he was trying to show excitement or at least content to see the silver haired English teacher there.

Iruka Umino was sick in the hospital with leukemia, something he had been diagnosed with seven years ago. He had been in rehab for a while, but then fell into relapse four years ago. He had gotten better again, but then a year ago he once again had a replace. He had been on and off from the hospital since then, trying his best to teach at Konoha High his subject without having to ask one of the other teachers to do it for him. But that would most likely not last.

"Hey Iruka," Kakashi greeted, smiling behind his mask. "How's the meds?" Iruka coughed out a laugh, looking at him with his dead eyes. Kakashi inwardly shuddered. His lover never used to be like this…

"They could be better." He said softly, and then pressed a button on some controls beside him, raising the top half of his bed so that he was sitting up. He looked at him quietly, absentmindedly scratching the top of his hand where they had injected the IV needle so that the chemo could enter his system and fight off the illness. Kakashi sighed softly, walking into the room and sitting on a chair beside the bed, taking Iruka's hand quietly in both of his, rubbing it before he pulled down his mask, kissing his knuckles quietly.

"I miss you…" He whispered softly, closing his eye. "I miss you a lot."

"I miss you too, Kakashi." Iruka whispered softly, sighing as he gave the paler man's hand a tender squeeze. "How's Naruto?"

"He's good; got himself a little crush." Kakashi said a teasing tone in his voice. Iruka smiled softly at that, knowing that the silver haired man really did care about the blonde haired boy who he saw as his son.

"On who? I'm guessing it's a guy if he takes on anything after you and me." Kakashi laughed at that, smiling at him, and Iruka smiled again at him. Kakashi's face was a beautiful thing; he didn't know why he chose to hide it from the outside world.

"Yes, it's a guy. His name is Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka's eyes widened at the name. How he knew it well… "Yeah, I know; it's amazing, isn't it? How irony works."

Iruka laughed humorlessly at Kakashi's comment, looking up at the roof in exasperation. "Cold irony; that's what this is."

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_Sasuke looked frightened as he stepped into the old building the pale man was leading him into. He was an easily frightened child, of course; babied most of his life and given anything he desired by his parents and older brother. _

_Though Itachi was still perfect. _

_He looked up at Orochimaru, biting his bottom lip quietly as the golden eyes looked down at him, and the man smiled slightly. "Sasuke, I want you to meet your new family." He said, and then indicated to a few children sitting in front of him with wondering looks on their faces. There were a few older teenagers there that looked like they took care of all the younger children. One of the teenagers caught Sasuke's eyes. _

_A silver haired boy with dark eyes and glasses was looking at him with a small smile; so much like the black haired man beside him would smile._

"_Ah, that is Kabuto Yakushi, my little adoptive son." He explained patiently. "I found him first; he started my little gathering here. This little…Family." _

_Sasuke nodded, hugging her arms quietly as he looked at another teenaged girl who was slightly older than the rest. _

"_Anko Mitarashi." Orochimaru explained. "I found Kabuto first and started this, true, but I had long ago taken Anko in and trained her to be my little apprentice." He smiled at the dark haired woman, and she smirked in return. _

"_Welcome to the family." _

Sasuke blinked, clutching his head slightly as he leaned over a box filled of fantasy books. He looked up when a shadow fell upon him, and saw Sarutobi looking down at him worriedly. "You alright?"

"…Yeah, I'm fine." Sasuke mumbled, continuing what he had been doing before the memory had hit him. "I might…Space out some times; I'm just…Remembering some stuff."

"Remember?"

"I have loss of memory." Sasuke explained, not saying what had caused his loss of memory in the first place. He didn't think his new boss needed to know about that.

Sarutobi looked at him worriedly, before he nodded. "Alright, I'll be opening the shop now; ready for the rush?"

"How many people come here?"

"Not that many." Sarutobi said, smiling. "I just like calling it the rush because all the regulars come here."

Sasuke smiled slightly. "Aa."

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Temari looked at Tayuya quietly, smiling at her a little as Tayuya looked at her with a small smile. The pink haired girl then sighed and lay back on the carpeted floor of Temari's room, staring at the roof. "I can't believe I'm actually staying at your place. This is so surreal." Temari laughed at that.

"I know; it's like, unnatural of something but it's actually happening. I mean, you're not safe at your own house; who knows what Orochimaru will try, eh? He can be pretty heartless." Tayuya snorted at that, closing her eyes.

"He seemed so kind when I first met him…Like he actually cared, you know?" Temari looked at her, urging her to explain. "Nah; I'll tell you about it later."

The blonde sighed, looking at her with her dark green eyes. "Alright; I'll hold you to that. Anyhow, you want something to eat? Gaara makes a mean pizza."

"Mean as in good or mean as in it's going to eat my face?"

"Good; duh." Tayuya grinned at her, and with the help of her friend got up onto her feet, both going down to the kitchen where Kankuro was setting the table and Gaara was pulling out that night's dinner; pizza.

Yeah; Gaara can cook.

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Sakura opened the door and smiled wide at the person on the other side, sidestepping so that they could get into the apartment with their bags. "Glad you could come; I'm so happy you're going to be my new roommate."

The other person laughed, putting down their box and looking around, sweeping back some of their hair, before smiling at Sakura. "So," a familiar female voice started, and Sakura looked over at Ino's blue eyes, smiling at her. "Where's my room?"

Sakura laughed at her blunt question, picking up Ino's box and leading her down the small hall of the apartment, kicking open the door to her parent's old room. It was barren now of anything that would remind her of her parents, and she rather liked it that way. "This is your room; you get the bathroom connected to your room."

"So do you."

"I know, but it's connected to the PUBLIC bathroom, and not my very own private one. But I gave you this one because of your hair supplies. It's so VAST and all, to make up for all that air inside your head."

"Ow; my intellect."

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Shino pushed up his glasses as he stepped into the small book store, nodding to Sarutobi as he looked around. He heard something in the back, frowning slightly behind his high collared jacket, before he walked to the back of the shelves to see a familiar raven haired boy putting books away carefully into the shelves in their proper places.

"You work here?" He asked quietly, making Sasuke jumped. The Uchiha spun around, looking at him with shocked obsidian eyes, before he sighed softly, and looked at him, nodding. "Since when?"

"This morning." Sasuke replied, looking at him as he crossed his arms. "What would you like, Shino?"

"I just heard something out of place and went to see what it was." Shino replied truthfully, shrugging slightly. Sasuke blinked. This was the longest conversation he had ever had with Shino. The Aburame then nodded to the Uchiha, and went over to the bug section of the store. Sasuke blinked, and then looked over to his other side to see Sarutobi standing by him, smiling.

"He's one of my regulars; comes everyday. Once in a while he'd help; but now I have hired labour." Sarutobi smiled at him, and Sasuke smirked a little, looking back at Shino as he flipped through the pages of one of the books he had recently just put onto the shelf. "Back to work now."

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Itachi looked up as Sasuke walked in through the door an hour before dinner, and smirked at him. "How was your first day?"

"It was good; calm and quiet. I enjoyed it." Sasuke said, looking at him. "Nothing like my school at all." Itachi grinned at him, patting the spot on the couch beside him. Sasuke slid onto the spot upside down as he usually did, looking up at his brother. "How was your day?"

"Day off today. I got stuck with house cleaning." Itachi frowned and Sasuke laughed. Itachi _hated _house cleaning. Had since he was younger. Most likely forever would.

"Hey…Sasuke," Itachi started off, sounding thoughtful. "How would you feel…If I was keeping something from you?"

"I'd wonder what." Sasuke said, flipping over so that he was right side up. "Why? Are you?"

"…No." Itachi mumbled softly, and then stood up, stretching his arms. "I'm gonna start dinner now. Stir fry sound good?"

"Yeah." Sasuke said, looking up at his brother. "Sounds fine to me."

Itachi smiled. "That's good."

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Naruto looked up at Kakashi, smiling at him slightly as he removed the blue bandage and the mask quietly, slipping off his coat. "How's Iruka?" The blonde asked quietly, looking at the silver haired man.

Kakashi looked at him, before he smiled slightly. "He said he was feeling a little better; weak, but better than before."

Naruto smiled softly, nodding. "That's good."

Kakashi then looked at him again, cocking his head to the side. "You want to go out for a walk?"

Naruto blinked, before he smiled slightly. "Yeah, sure."

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Orochimaru looked at Kin quietly, tilting her head this way and that before he shooed her off. She sighed in relief, bowing to him before she rushed off, panting as Zaku looked at her worriedly and Dosu went up at last to Orochimaru.

Kabuto looked at the teens in front of him, frowning. Their numbers had shrunk vastly since they were in jail and the Uchiha boy had abandoned them since of what happened. He frowned slightly. Of course the boy would run, the man _had _raped him.

He didn't fully trust Orochimaru, no matter how long he had known him. The man was sick and twisted, and truly, he feared him. Orochimaru could easily twist his life around and then shatter it; whether murdering his mind or murdering him in general.

Not very comforting.


	12. Meet Chidori

A/N: WHOO! I had fun writing this! WHOOT! Anyhow, the romance should be starting now, ya impatient fools! (J/k, j/k, I love you all.) And a plot line is finally peeking out! OMG! Let's see if you can find it! I'll give ya a cookie if ya can. XP GOOD LUCK! Anyhow, this was fun to write; I really liked how it went. The style I wrote it in was fun as well. Whee. Anyhow, enjoy! OH! ANd Autum Jade, I HOPE THIS HAS ENOUGH ACTION FOR YA! XP

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Naruto stretched his arms over his head quietly as he walked down the sidewalk, looking around the sleepy roads of the people. It was Sunday now; seemed like the weekend had gone by much too fast for his liking. He walked by a few people sitting around a radio, listening to a song, and he smiled slightly, stopping to listen as well.

They looked up at him with wide eyes, before one of them smiled and waved at him. "Hey Naruto."

"Hey Konohamaru," Naruto nodded, looking at the radio. "What's the song you're listening?" He asked curiously.

"Oh? It's 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt." The girl in the group answered, smiling at him slightly. "Remember me, niisan?" Naruto laughed, grinning at her.

"Hey Moegi." He said, flicking one of her pigtails, before he sighed as he sat down with them, listening to the song as well.

_And I don't know what to do…_

'_Cause I'll never be with you_

Naruto blinked, before he snorted. 'Sounds familiar…' He thought sarcastically, before he leaned back against the concrete railing behind him on the stairs, listening to the song.

"Naruto-niisan, you sure have gotten calmer growing up." Konohamaru stated, looking at the serene looking blonde on the steps. "You used to be really loud and hyper."

"I had to calm down a little." Naruto stated, opening his eyes and looking up at the sky, which had a few clouds floating by slowly in the light blue sky. He shivered slightly in his orange and black jacket, rubbing his arms absentmindedly as a chilled wind blew by them. He crossed his legs, his black jeans making that noise jeans made whenever they rubbed against each other, his combat boots clicking slightly with the buckles. "I mean; I couldn't stay hyper and loud for the rest of my life; it would make things really, REALLY obvious."

Konohamaru smiled slightly. "I miss the old you, though. You were really fun."

"And what, I'm not NOW? Ouch, Konohamaru, that HURT." Naruto said, shoving the small brunette back slightly and grinning at him. "Damn, you know how to bruise an ego, don't ya?"

"I've been practicing."

"Wonderful; I'm DOOMED."

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he leaned against the wall of the store, watching as customers walked around quietly, flipping through pages in books and looking at the titles of certain tombs, before he pushed himself off of said wall and walked to the back to get something to drink.

The dark haired boy made himself some coffee that had been made a little earlier by Sarutobi, and he sipped it quietly, looking out the window of the Employee Room. He saw people walking down the sidewalk outside, laughing at something or listening to music. He frowned slightly. These people were good at interacting; they were used to the things in the city. They didn't have anything insane going on in their lives.

Unlike him; he was remembering his forgotten past; he was learning things about himself he should've known forever; he had a crazy child molester out for his blood or whatever; and he had a blonde haired idiot with an interest in him taking care of him in school.

No, he was NOT a screwed up child.

Really.

Sighing softly, he closed his eyes, sipping his coffee again, when he heard the door open behind him. He turned his head, raising an eyebrow at the old man and blink. "Yeah?" He asked simply, not really caring if he wasn't showing respect to the older man. He was half Japanese, okay? HALF.

"Taking your break?" Sarutobi asked lightly, walking over to him as he smoked his pipe quietly. Sasuke looked away from him, gripping his throat slightly like he had when he thought of Asuma smoking the other day. "You don't like smoking? Sorry if it bothers you…"

"No, it's not that; I don't really care. I just…I get the feeling that it has something to do with me." He said, and then shrugged. "My imagination, I guess. And yeah, I'm taking my break; my shift's almost over anyhow, and I want to get home before Aniki." He said, smirking slightly at Sarutobi. "Just so I can attempt to make him lunch."

"And poison him?" Sarutobi asked. "He told me of your culinary skills; which is nonexistent." Sasuke shrugged slightly and Sarutobi laughed. "Oh my; I hope he doesn't end up in the hospital. Tsunade doesn't need to have another Uchiha in her hands."

"Huh?"

"She works in the hospital part time whenever she isn't working at the school. Its how she pays her gambling debts." Sasuke's eyes widened. Wasn't that lovely; his principal had a gambling addiction. She probably loved sake as well… "And she needs to pay off all the money for her sake." …Oh he called that one.

"Ah." He replied simply, looking back at him, before he sighed. "How do you know my Aniki, Sarutobi?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I mean; it seems like you have regular conversations with him."

Sarutobi looked to the side in thought, inhaling some of his tobacco, before he shook his head. "Only he can tell you that, Sasuke." He then looked at his watch. "Your shift is over; you can go home."

* * *

He walked home, his hands shoved into his pockets as he listened to a song on his mixed CD. The song was some sort of Swedish maybe, with really heavy drums, violin and guitar. Heavy metal maybe? He didn't really care, but still, it was a good song.

He slowed to a stop a few minutes later, close to a drug store, still looking at the ground in front of him as three big guys from the alleyway beside him walked out, all grinning maliciously next to each other. "Hey look guys, it's a new one." One of them said, shoving the dark haired boy's shoulder lightly. He took a step back, still looking down. The thug grinned. "Aww, not gonna say anything pretty boy?"

Sasuke looked up, looking at him blankly with no emotion on his face. "What do you want?" He asked simply instead of answering him. The thug narrowed his eyes, frowning a little.

"A little fun."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side as the other two stepped up, pulling out switchblades, before he sighed mockingly, placing his hand under his chin in a thoughtful position, his other hand holding his elbow as he looked up in 'thought'. "A little fun?" He repeated, and then looked at them, grinning maliciously as his eyes bled red. "But of course."

The thugs blinked in confusion at his sudden change in eye colour, before Sasuke dropped his backpack and jacket to the ground, rolling his shoulders. "A little fun…Shall be entertaining." He said, grinning at them, before he dropped down, kicking one of them under the legs and catching the switchblade that he had dropped as he fell, spinning it around so the blade was pointing at the thug and stabbed him in the neck, slicing through it and kicking him in the stomach away from him and out of his choice of weapon.

He watched as she blood dripped down his hand, then looked at the other two and grinned. "Who's next?" He whispered psychotically.

* * *

Weekends were boring, Naruto noticed.

He noticed this as he was walking down the alleyway towards his home, having decided that he'd actually do that homework Jiraiya had assigned them the other day. And why not? He had nothing better to do today now did he?

Suddenly he heard screaming ahead of him, and his eyes widened, before he jogged towards it. He had heard something interesting, of course he was going to run! Stopping in front of an empty street, he peeked in, and his blue eyes widened as he saw a bloody body hit the floor as the person who had just finished him off dropped the knife, looking at his hand with an indifferent look to his eyes. Red eyes turned to meet his dark blue, and Naruto took a step back as he saw who it was.

"Sasuke?" He said incredulously. "Holy SHIT man!" He ran towards Sasuke, looking at him as his eyes faded back to obsidian, and he looked at the practically decapitated bodies around his feet. He blinked slowly, before looking up at Naruto.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked softly. Naruto blinked, looking at the bodies and wincing, before looking at Sasuke with saucer plated sized eyes.

"YES. YOU DID." Sasuke blinked, looking at his bloody hand again, before looking at him.

"Oops."

* * *

Itachi groaned as he listened to Naruto explain what Sasuke had done as he cleaned his hands in the bathroom, hitting his head over and over again on the counter as Naruto recounted what Sasuke had told him. "He asked if he had done something wrong and I looked at him like he was insane, and then said he did. He said 'oops'. What the HELL Itachi?"

Itachi sighed, looking at him. "Did you ask him anything else?" He asked, looking at the blonde. Naruto shook his head, and Itachi sighed, nodding. "Alright, I have a theory; he most likely fell back into his murderous little ten-year-old self and didn't know he was KILLING SOMEONE."

Naruto blinked, remembering when he had first gotten information about Sasuke…Almost a week ago now…

"_There's a bunch of other crap in there about Sasuke, and it makes me wonder about the guy. He didn't seem so bad yesterday. A little dark and quiet, moody, even, but who knew he was capable of THAT?" _

"_What's that?" Naruto asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes. _

"_Look at the last page." Naruto nodded and flipped through the other pages, getting to the last one. His eyes widened. _

"_The hell…" _

"_Exactly."_

_Naruto frowned, feeling a little sick at the picture that was in front of him. A ten-year-old Sasuke sat in front of a mangled and decapitated body, a beer bottle shattered at the ground beside him, his eyes blood red as he grinned like a maniac at whoever was taking the picture. His face, hands, arms and legs were covered in blood, and he had small cuts on his cheeks and neck, blood sprayed onto the front of his shirt, barely visible. It was disturbing…This was the Sasuke that went to this school? _

"_He's killed at least five people in his life. And that's not the worst thing about it." Shikamaru said offhandedly. Naruto shot his eyes up at him, his eyes wide. _

"_What's worse than first degree murder? No, this isn't murder…This is heartless SLAUGHTER…"_

"_What's worse?" Gaara whispered, looking up, his eyes flashing slightly. Naruto shifted, not liking the fact that his red headed friend looked like that. _

"_What's worse is that he didn't know it was murder." Shikamaru muttered. Gaara looked at Naruto and the blonde gulped, knowing what the second in command was implying. _

"_Ah…Shit."_

Naruto looked away, biting his bottom lip as Itachi swore under his breath for a while. Both their heads snapped over to a creak in the floor and there stood Sasuke, looking a little bit more than a little confused.

"Uhh…what's going on?" He asked, looking around. "Why does Aniki look ready to murder someone with a spork?"

"Because I AM." Itachi muttered, walking by him, then stopped, turning to him. "On your way home…Did you so happen to have a memory?"

"Huh?"

* * *

_Four Hours Earlier_

Sasuke walked home quietly, shifting through songs on his mix CD, before he sighed and stopped, placing a hand on the wall next to him, taking in deep breaths through his nose. His mind felt fuzzy…He sighed; he had taken this as a sign that he was about to have what Kakashi apparently called a 'Memory Attack'.

_Sasuke looked down at the unconscious woman in front of him, his eyes wide as his hand shook. He felt a pale hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Orochimaru giving him a warm smile, something he hadn't seen much from the man. "Don't worry; she isn't dead." _

_Sasuke nodded, stepping back into the older man's warm presence…Though it suddenly felt cold…So cold…_

"_Snake?" He whispered softly. Orochimaru's golden eyes flitted down to him. "Why…Are you called that?" _

_Orochimaru laughed. "An interesting question. It's so people don't know my real name." He said, looking at him. "Gang names, really. I'm sometimes called Manda, after a legendary Snake Summon." _

"_That's so…Girly." Sasuke said, scrunching up his face. Orochimaru sighed, ruffling his hair a little and Sasuke swiped at his hand childishly. "Orochimaru…?" _

"_Yes, Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked, bending down to looking at him at eye level. _

"…_Do I have a name?" _

_Orochimaru blinked, cocking his head to the side. "Do you want one?" _

"_Please." _

"_What would suit you…I wonder…" Orochimaru thought for a moment, then listened to the 'chi' noise that Sasuke made as he shifted in his spot. "…What's the word for bird?" _

"_Huh?" _

"_A word associated with birds." _

_Sasuke thought for a moment, before looking up at him. _

"_Chidori." _

"_And that's your new name."

* * *

_"My name was once Chidori." Sasuke said softly, his bangs hiding his eyes. Naruto stepped back then, his eyes widening greatly, shaking his head. Itachi swore to himself, punching the wall beside him, before his eyes snapped over to his little brother.

"Are you sure, otouto?" He asked, walking over to him and grabbing his shoulders gently. "Are you positively sure?"

"Yes." He said, looking up at him with his dark eyes. "I'm sure."

"No way." Naruto mumbled, and then looked at Itachi who looked heartbroken. "You can't be him!"

"What's wrong with that name?" Sasuke shouted, more confused than hurt or anything that he should've felt. He didn't understand.

"You…You killed…" Naruto took a step back. "….Rin."

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were sitting on the roof, Naruto looking out at the city as the sun was setting, a blank look on his face while Sasuke was looking at the ground, biting his bottom lip nervously. He shifted, looking at Naruto, who looked back at him, and smiled painfully.

"Who's Rin?" He asked softly.

"Her name was Rin Itsumi. She…Was the mother of Tenten Itsumi. Tenten doesn't really remember her well, though." Naruto said, and then sighed, hugging his arms. "She raised me…When my parents died in a car accident." He looked at her. "She was killed by a guy named Chidori. They said that something had happened to him in his gang, and he went on a rampage. I knew it was a mistake…But I had sworn if I ever met Chidori I'd kill him."

Sasuke stiffened, his eyes widening, before they darkened. "And are you going to kill me, Naruto?"

"What? No way! Now way in fucking hell!" Naruto said, looking at him with wide eyes. "I'd never do that to you!"

"What changed your mind?" Sasuke looked at him, confusion clearly written in his eyes. Naruto froze, his mouth hanging open before he closed it with a click and thought over his answer. He then smiled softly, looking at the city again.

"I met the person who killed Rin." He said gently, and then turned to him. "I won't kill you."

"I don't think you have the heart to." Sasuke said, standing up. "You're a kind person, Naruto. You act cold and calculating, and maybe you are; but you have many different personalities. Inside, though, you're kind and you just want everyone to be happy…Right?"

Naruto looked at him, before looking at the sky, leaning back. "Yeah…"

The door to the roof then opened, and Itachi walked in, Kakashi behind him, giving him funny looks. Kakashi then looked at Naruto, and grinned beneath his mask.

"I was wondering where you had disappeared to; you didn't call me so I worried." He said, scratching the back of his head. Naruto rolled his eyes, grinning slightly, before he stood up and sighed, stretching his arms above his head. He then turned to Sasuke and grinned.

"Well, Sasuke; I'll see ya tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, smiling at him a little. When Naruto was about to leave, though, he grabbed his wrist. Naruto blinked, turning around to look at him. Sibling and guardian looked at them, and then sneakily snuck away from them, giving them their private time.

"Can I…Join Bijuu?" Sasuke asked softly. "You had offered the position to me before."

Naruto looked at him, before he smiled. "Yeah; of course you can. My offer still stands strong."

Sasuke nodded, looking to the side for a moment, a light blush on his cheeks, before he bent forward, gently pressing his lips against Naruto's. The blonde's blue eyes widened, and just when Sasuke was about to pull away, he pressed his lips firmly against the paler boy's, returning the kiss. Sasuke closed his eyes, Naruto doing the same, and they stood there just innocently kissing each other for a few seconds, before Sasuke pulled away, letting go of his wrist.

"You should get going before Kakashi freaks out." He mumbled, then smirked at him and nodded. Naruto grinned back at him, hands behind his head, before he nodded and waved, walking to the door and meeting up with Kakashi at the stairwell. Itachi climbed back onto the roof where Sasuke was looking at the city streets below him, watching as police cars drove down the street and people went to get their groceries. Itachi stood next to him, looking over at him, and he nudged his arm.

"What did you two do?" He asked mischievously. Sasuke grinned.

"Nothing much."

* * *

Sighing softly, Tsunade downed her sake, closing her eyes, before she looked at her computer screen, frowning slightly. The information that Shizune had sent her bothered her a bit. She couldn't believe what was going on in this article.

"Orochimaru, you've really pissed off a bunch a bunch of people." She mumbled, sighing as she closed her eyes. She felt someone enter the room, and opened her brown eyes, looking at the white haired teacher that had just walked in, grinning sheepishly at her. "What is it, Jiraiya?"

"A meeting's being called." He said, looking at all serious now. Tsunade straightened a little; meetings were only called when a new member joined…

"When?"

"Tomorrow after school; we're going to the gymnasium apparently."

"This guy's gotta be special." Jiraiya grinned at her, and Tsunade rolled her eyes, making herself comfortable in her seat. "Sake?"

"Yeah, why not."

* * *

Naruto sat in his room, on top of his bed, his fingers to his lips as he thought of the feeling of Sasuke kissing him earlier, before he smiled, sighing slightly as he fell backwards onto his bed. He felt light hearted and dizzy, meaning he felt stereotypically dreamy after a kiss, and then he crossed his eyes. He was acting like a damned school girl for crying out loud!

Flicking his forehead he sighed, turning slightly and looking out his window as the stars shone dimly so far away. He then smiled.

That meeting tomorrow should definitely be interesting, that was for sure.

He laughed; the Sannin were coming after all.


	13. Bijuu

A/N: FWA. Me being uber lazy. Please don't kill me; you'll never learn the fate of Orochimaru then! Only I know! SERIOUSLY! No one else knows this plot! AND YES THERE IS A PLOT. HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THE DEVELOPMENT? Anyhow, a lot of you are thinking that the romance is FINALLY here. Well...Sorta. The attraction is. The sexual attraction and a weird sense to protect. We'll be seeing posessiveness as well. Whee. Anyhow! Enjoy the uber lateness. And don't kill me. PLEASE.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Sasuke walked into the school, looking around it quietly as he thought about the events of the weekend. He had gotten a job, had remembered more things about his past, killed three people and kissed Naruto. A BOY.

Itachi was right; he was gay.

Damn it. He SO wanted to prove him wrong. Ah well. Naruto kissed him back, so that must've meant the blonde was gay as well!

…Or was he bi?

Sighing, he made his way to the fire escape, climbing up the iron stairs and looking at the gang sitting around in their usual spots. He saw Naruto waving him over, and raised an eyebrow, walking over to him and standing in front of him.

"We have a meeting today after school; it's in the gym. It's all about YOU, too!" Sasuke blinked at the blonde's exuberance, cocking his head to the side in his silent question. "You're joining the gang as an Honour Member, right? So you get a special ceremony where all the members, including spies from different gangs and our higher ups on the charts and old retired members come. You get to see who the hell's been in our wonderful gang and who you know and didn't expect them to be in it!"

Sasuke blinked again, and Naruto grinned at him. "And we need a name for you."

"I have a name." Sasuke mumbled, lowering his eyes. Naruto stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowing a little at the thought, before he sighed, looking up at him. He tugged the dark boy down and Sasuke kneeled in front of him so that they were sort of eyelevel, but Sasuke was a little lower than him.

"I know you do…But do you want to keep it? It'll remind you of so many things…"

"It'll remind you of more painful times." He muttered, looking away. "You want me to get a new name because of that, right?"

"I'm not selfish." Naruto said, stroking his hair slightly. Sasuke blushed a little, and a small smile crept onto the blonde's face. "I don't want you to be haunted by the memories though…" He turned his head, making him look at him, and all the eyes that were staring at them fell away from their consciousness as they made eye contact.

"I won't be." Sasuke mumbled softly, looking at him. "It's just a name; it doesn't mean anything, does it?"

"It's what we're most like." Naruto said. "My name is Kyuubi for…Reasons; same with everyone else." He then sighed, and dropped his hand, smiling a little at him as all the eyes returned without anything happening. He didn't want to rush with this boy in front of him…He felt a strong bond with him. "So you'll stick with your old name?" Sasuke nodded. "Alright; you're name's Chidori."

A hushed silence fell across the roof as wide eyes turned to Sasuke, and Tenten's head snapped over to him, her brown eyes widening greatly. Sasuke hunched his shoulders a little, not liking the attention, and he stood up, looking at the ground as he walked towards the stairs. Someone grabbed his wrist, though, and he turned to look at Tenten, who looked at him in confusion.

"Did you really kill my mom?" She asked softly, so that only he could hear her. He sighed, looking at her and his eyes softened…Only slightly, though.

"Yeah; I didn't know it, though. You can hate me if you want to; I wouldn't blame you."

Tenten looked at him, and then shook her head. "I didn't know my mom well; she left when I was born, because she couldn't take care of me. She was being hunted down by some people, and so she couldn't raise me like she wanted to. I saw her only once…Before he death. She said she wished she had been there for me. I didn't mind." She smiled softly. "When I heard she died, I was sad…But I didn't know her."

"Why will no one hate me?" He asked softly, pulling his wrist from her grasp. "I killed someone you knew…And no one is properly angry." He looked at Naruto when he said the last part. He saw the blonde avoiding eye contact. "Or maybe…You're holding it in." He whispered, then sighed and turned, walking down from the roof and going into the school just as the bell rang.

As the members of the gang made their way towards the stairs, Naruto looked at the city to his left, a calm look on his face. Neji stood a bit by him, but closer to the stairs, waiting to go down. He looked over at the leader, and raised an eyebrow. "You are coming?"

"…Not today." He said, smiling a little. "I gotta let out some steam."

Neji sighed, and nodded, going down the first few steps, before looking at him alright. "Alright; see ya tonight." He then went all the way down, and Naruto sighed, frowning deeply.

"Damn it."

* * *

Anko watched as Sasuke spiked the ball hard, a hard glare on his face, and she raised an eyebrow in question as the boy roughly passed the ball to another teammate, who passed it to the person in the middle, preparing the ball for Sasuke to spike again. The black haired boy spiked it harshly to the ground, as if venting anger.

When she blew the whistle for break, he immediately went to a punching bag and kicked at it roughly, fisting his hands but never once using them. She sighed as she walked over to the boy viciously kicking the bag to death. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes narrowed slightly at him. "What's wrong?"

"I remember you." He said, turning to look at her. She blinked, her jaw dropping slightly, before she closed it with a _click_, and looked away slightly, frowning. "Why didn't you explain it to me clearly before?"

"He would've killed me; duh." Anko said, rolling her eyes. "God." She then sighed, looking at him. "Are you alright?"

"No; but I'll survive." He muttered, then sighed and dropped his leg which he had held in the kicking position, standing straight. "Can I be excused?"

"We have twenty minutes left of class."

"I need to leave." Sasuke mumbled softly. "They're staring."

Anko looked over to see members of Bijuu looking at Sasuke with odd eyes, shock and wonderment in their depths. She then sighed and nodded, pushing him away. "Get out." She muttered. "If you get caught, I'm not your teacher this morning."

Sasuke grinned, looking at her. "Haven't changed."

"Hell no." He chuckled a little, and then waved a little, walking to the changing room to get dressed. She looked out the doors of the gym a little bit later to see him walking down towards the halls with his regular clothes on, and sighed a little, shaking her head.

"Poor kid."

"Anko?" The co-ed gym teacher turned her head and looked at Ino who stood before her with a raised eyebrow. "Why'd you let him leave?"

"You were staring, blondie." Anko said, and then shoved her shoulder a little. "Now everyone! Break's over; get back to your games! Sasuke's gone missing and I don't know how, so friggin' deal with it!" Everyone scrambled to their nets, Ino rolling her eyes at the teacher, before she jogged away. Anko grinned, putting her hands behind her head and sighed.

"Damn that kid."

* * *

Sasuke sat in one of the few trees scattered in the picnic area outside, looking out at the sky from the branches, the leaves only letting a little bit of the sun to shine down on him, covering him in shadows. He felt a slight breeze, and then the soft sound of footsteps, and looked down to see the red headed second in command, Gaara Sabaku.

"Sabaku?" Sasuke inquired, blinking slightly. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was going to ask you that." Gaara said, looking up at him with his ice green eyes. He then indicated with a jerk of his head for the Uchiha to come down onto the ground. Sasuke sighed, before he slipped down from his branch, landing carefully on the grass below him, before he stood up straight, looking slightly down at the shorter 2nd year. "Why are you out here?"

"I couldn't stay in class; I'm a little angry right now." He said, sighing. He might as well answer the red head; he knew Gaara could force him to answer somehow. He was sneaky like that. Or clever. Either one, really; it didn't matter to him.

Gaara looked at him carefully, before he cocked his head to the side. "…Your name is Chidori? As in the famous gang member that killed a bunch of people when he was out of control?"

"I suppose so." Sasuke said, blinking. How did everyone know of his past self…And yet he was still utterly confused by it? Gaara then looked at him, a different shine in his eyes…

Wait. A shine? This…Could not be a good sign.

"Fight me." Gaara whispered softly, looking up at him. "I want to feel that power."

* * *

Naruto was rifling through different papers in the school's principal's office, as said principle drank her sake behind him, looking through some sheets that the student council had sent her for requests of different field trips and the Graduation Dance theme. She sighed, closing her eyes, before looking at the blonde looking through people's school records, and rose an eyebrow.

"Even though I really don't care that you're here and looking through confidential files because you practically live with me since you stumble into my house drunk a lot—which you haven't yet this week, I'm impressed—what are you doing here?" She asked, blinking at him.

"Uhh…Occupying myself." Naruto answered, grinning. "And I haven't touched a bottle of beer at all this week! Be even more impressed." Tsunade grinned at him as he smirked at her, before continuing to do his rifling. "I don't wanna go to class, Tsunade-baachan, don't make me go!"

"I won't, I won't!" She sighed, and then looked out the window. She blinked, her jaw dropping slightly. "Is…That Gaara and Uchiha?" She asked stupidly, pointing out the window.

Now, Tsunade's window had a marvelous view of the picnic table area, because she wanted to see grass and trees; not cement and cars and shootings. She just wasn't into that; she had a fear of blood and everything. Funny; she was a doctor.

Naruto blinked, standing up and walking over to the window and peeking out, his blue eyes widening. "Shit yes it is! What the hell are they doing—oh God, don't tell me Gaara challenged him! CRAP!" He pushed away from the window, running out the door before Tsunade could even put in her two cents. The blonde woman sighed.

"He's insufferable."

Naruto, meanwhile, had crashed through the back doors and was making his way towards the two, just as Gaara ran at him with speed he almost didn't recognize, and then realized he had let Shukaku out. "Oh…CRAPTASTIC." He hissed, running towards them even faster. He then saw Sasuke smirk, his eyes bleeding red, and froze, his eyes widening.

"Chidori…" He whispered as he saw Sasuke grab Gaara's arm and twist it behind him in a painful position, pushing against his back with his foot as he bent down to whisper something into Gaara's ear, making the red head snarl and rip his arms out of his grasp, gripping Sasuke's neck and throwing him over his shoulder, cracking his knuckles by shifting his fingers. Sasuke landed on his feet, standing up and turning to look at Gaara, before they ran at each other again.

Naruto shook his head, trying to forget the fact that Chidori had killed Rin, and ran towards them, grabbing Gaara by the arm and swinging him over his shoulder as he hit a tree, hitting Sasuke on the head with the heel of his palm, knocking him off balance. "God damn it, STOP IT!" He shouted, glaring at them. Gaara blinked, wincing slightly, and Naruto sighed. Maybe he had thrown him too hard.

Sasuke blinked, rubbing his forehead as his eyes faded back to black, and he looked at Naruto in confusion. Why…?

"I don't need two of the strongest guys in the history of gangs to be fighting against each other and get each other _killed_. Alright? I don't need that; I don't need to deal with the deaths of two people. I don't want to sign paperwork." He then sighed, rubbing his temples. "Gaara, go back to class; you have home economics right now don't you? Sasuke…Go back to whatever you were doing. I don't need this." He then waved as Gaara got up and made his way back to the class, leaving a confused Sasuke behind.

"…What the hell?"

* * *

Tsunade closed the doors to the school before she sighed and locked them from the inside, before putting her keys into her pocket, and walking towards the gymnasium where different students a few teachers here and there were walking in.

Older teenagers and younger teenagers that didn't even go to the school stepped into the gym via the backdoor, taking their seats and talking to people they sat beside. Red Desert Sasori was, at that moment, trying to talk to Sakura.

"Come on, Sakura; I told you I was sorry." Sakura only snubbed him and he groaned, rolling his brown eyes heavenward at the stubborn woman beside him, glaring at her a little spitefully. She turned towards him, green eyes sharp with anger.

"You called me weak during practice; that hurt my pride!"

"And I know you're not week because my ribs are _still _bruised thanks to you." Sasori muttered, rolling his eyes. This made Sakura look over at him, her eyes widening in shock. "What?"

"I hit you in the ribs? When?" She asked, shifting so she could face him. Sasori blinked, pushing some of his red hair out of his face, before cocking his head to the side.

"Uhh…Near the beginning of our fight before Hinata joined. Uhh…What's wrong with her?" He asked, looking back at Hyuuga who was talking to Gaara and Neji, smiling and laughing softly. Neji seemed to be a little sterner looking than usual at these meetings, and Gaara seemed to be a little less insane; which was always a good/bad thing at the same time. Good because he wasn't insane; bad for reasons unknown to the Akatsuki spy.

Suddenly, the crowd turned hushed, and the two conversing members turned to look up at the front of the gymnasium to see Tsunade standing there, looking at them all. Naruto was partially hidden behind him, which amused some of the members greatly because their leader was tiny in comparison to their principal, and the blonde woman sighed, side stepping so that he could be seen. "You all know why you're here?" She said loudly and clearly.

Most people nodded, though some people raised their hands. Tsunade sighed, scanning the faces, before her eyes narrowed. "Where's Sharingan?" She called out, looking around. She didn't see the other spy to Akatsuki anywhere. She looked down at the leader though when he cleared his throat.

"He said he couldn't come." He said, looking at her with a message clear in his blue eyes: SHUT UP. She sighed, rolling her eyes before she nodded, waving to the others as she went back to her seat. Naruto then stepped up, grinning at them all cheerfully. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Kyuubi,"

"What's up, Naruto?"

"Yo!"

"Dobe," Naruto snorted at Sasuke's greeting, winking at him. The paler boy blushed a little, though it looked dark on his almost white skin. Naruto grinned at him, then sighed and looked at everyone again.

"We're here because we have a new member." He announced. The people who hadn't known all blinked, jaws dropping, and the members that new smirked that they had known before the others, which caused a few verbal scuffles before Naruto whistled and everyone fell silent. "You guys are worse than middle school assemblies…" He mumbled, then sighed and rolled his eyes, cracking his neck.

"Could Sasuke Uchiha step up to the plate, please?" He called out. Sasuke stood up then, and walked up to the front, standing beside him. He felt as if this scenario had happened before as some girls he didn't recognize from school all giggled and swooned as he walked by and Tsunade grinned at him. And then it clicked and he rolled his eyes. Damned first day of school…

"Alright! Meet the new member; our local prick!"

"Ow. My pride." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes. Naruto laughed lightly, slinging an arm around his shoulder lazily.

"Anyhow; this is the new member Sasuke Uchiha. He already has a name too; isn't that convenient? Now some of you may KNOW this name; and yeah, he's the SAME GUY, okay? But he's WAY different now since he's not under the influence of a PEDOPHILIC FREAK." He said cheerfully. Some people blinked a little at this; it was kind of creepy how cheerfully and calm he said it. "His name is Chidori."

Utter. Silence.

Sasuke shrank back a little at the people staring at him with wide eyes, different members he didn't even personally KNOW having their jaws agape and staring at him. Tenten looked at him and smiled a little, though, and he felt a bit comforted. The one person it really mattered to didn't mind…Wait…That's not true.

He turned to Naruto who's smile seemed fake suddenly; the grip on his shoulders tight and almost painful. He winced slightly, shrugging out of his grasp and rotating the abused limbs as Naruto's arm dropped to his side. The blonde then shook his head, sighing as he looked at everyone.

"Ya guys know the ceremony." He said lazily, looking at them. "This one's a little different though; we got our first Honour Member."

* * *

Itachi sighed as he hid in his blankets, his eyes closed as he tried to get rid of the guilt of skipping out on the meeting. But he couldn't go…Sasuke would wonder why he was there and then he'd have to explain…

But he'd have to explain one day; Akatsuki frequently fights Bijuu for others gangs. They were a gang-for-hire technically. Maybe like a mafia because they mostly had adults and older teens in their group; no pretty young kids like the gangs in this city. The Uchiha sighed as he turned to his other side, closing his eyes as he tried to fall asleep.

He also tried to get rid of the feeling of guilt of lying to his brother and saying he hadn't felt well. He had seen Sasuke's worried look at him, as if he hesitated in going to school, but Itachi had made him go by a single pointing of his finger towards the general direction of the front door. And of course, his otouto had listened. He was a good little brother; listened well and cared for him.

He was lucky to have him as a little brother, and would do anything for Sasuke.

He scowled. And that meant he had some unfinished business with a certain black haired pedophile.

* * *

Orochimaru sneezed, rubbing his nose slightly as he looked around the streets with a lazy look, before he sighed and smiled a little, walking down the sidewalk as if he were just looking at the roses and taking in their pleasant scent. Though of course, Kabuto knew better than that. As he walked behind the older man, he watched his as he looked around the streets, a thoughtful look on his face.

Looking for new recruits…Not like he'd find any in his city. Children didn't stay out any later than seven o'clock here, and they stuck to the parks, the backyards of apartment buildings, or at the schools that weren't being occupied.

The silver haired man's eyes turned to look at a certain high school that was fairly large, cocking his head to the side as he read the name. 'Konoha High School'. He blinked, recognizing the name from somewhere in the back of his mind…But he remembered a lot of different pointless information; like Orochimaru's favourite colour.

He didn't have one.

He then turned to look at said pedophile, and watched as he stopped, looking over to the park across the street. "It's said, isn't it, Kabuto? How there are no more children out here…Sitting alone. Away from my comforting hands." Kabuto shuddered slightly; more like clammy hands. "It's sad how I can't twist them into my own, perfect little creations…Like Anko and Sasuke."

He then sighed, shaking his head as his golden eyes looked back at Kabuto, who stood up straighter, looking like he was interested. "But Anko lacked bitterness and she left me…And Sasuke grew frightened and ran away." He chuckled darkly. "We taught him to run away, didn't we? That silly little fire…He probably still blames himself. As he should; he left me all alone with no one as perfect as him." Orochimaru then smiled softly, pushing back his long black hair.

"Come on; let's go back to the little ones. I'm sure that they miss us."

He looked back at him, and Kabuto smiled a little greasily.

"Of course."

* * *

Sasuke sat there awkwardly as everyone around him ran along the gym, going to different groups as the entire gang of Bijuu all were talking with each other and telling them about things that have happened. He sat by the boy's change rooms, looking at them all, especially at Naruto who seemed to be the life of the party; much different than the one he saw at school every day.

He saw the blonde laughing and joking with everyone, pushing around adults that were there like they were actually his age. He sighed, looking away from Naruto in favour of looking at his principal and the Geography teacher as they were arguing heatedly about something or other, the principal drinking some sake from the table next to them every once in a while. He sighed, shaking his head at them and wondering why his principal was in this gang in the first place. He then decided not the think on it; the answer may not be safe. All he knew was that she was called either 'Katsuyu', which was a slug queen summon in myth, or 'Godaime'.

Jiraiya was an odd member, though; he seemed to be close to Naruto, training him in different things apparently. He heard from a member he didn't know, some girl, that he had trained him how to fight and all that. He didn't know the full story…But maybe one day he'd learn it. All he knew about the white haired teacher that had to do with Bijuu was that he was called Gamabunta. That was about it, really.

…Other than he wrote the book material Kakashi wrote; but he really didn't care about that.

He blinked when a face appeared in front of him, and he was looking into the eyes of Temari, who was looking at him in interest. She had her face right up to his, their noses almost touching. Suddenly, she circled him, looking him up and down, and he was kind of freaked out.

"So; you're Chidori, the famous gang member that killed for pure sadistic pleasure. Gaara used to look up to you; then, you know, he figured out death was bad…and you kind of disappeared and he saw no point in killing anymore…So."

Sasuke's eyes were wide by now. "What?" He said incredulously. "The red head psychopath looked up to me?"

"You were a psychopath yourself."

"I…I wasn't…"

Temari snorted, grinning at him. "Don't deny it; it was just you at the time."

"I didn't know…"

Temari blinked, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't know when you were committing a homicide? Whoa." Sasuke stepped away from her, walking out of the general area, heading outside of the gymnasium out the back way when a hand suddenly caught his wrist, tugging him back into a strong chest. He blinked, eyes widening, when he felt two familiar arms drape over his shoulders lazily, the arms actually just wrapped round his front, one hand holding the other hand's wrist. A chin came to rest with the free spot on his shoulder, and Sasuke looked to the side to see Naruto looking at him, smiling slightly.

"Where are you going?"

"Home; I don't think I need to stay here."

"Oh, come on! We're gonna have to main show next!" The blonde said, pulling back and taking Sasuke's hand, linking their fingers together. "Please? I wanna watch it with you!"

"…Did you just say please?"

"Yes; and you can't refuse that! So let's get our seats!" Sasuke sighed as Naruto dragged him out of the gym where everyone was leaving, heading to the cafeteria where the stage was. Naruto plopped down on a reserved seat, pulling Sasuke on his lap, and the dark boy tumbled onto the blonde's lap, a little haphazardly.

"What the hell, Naruto? Let me in my own damn seat!"

"Nu-uh!" Sasuke sighed, too tired and confused to fight, made himself comfortable, looking at the stage.

"So…Who exactly is performing?"

"Why, a bunch of people, actually! We do this whenever we're really bored or a new member joins. Only special members, though; spies, adults, and now Honour Members." Naruto explained, looking at the black haired boy with a slight smile on his face.

"…Are all these people half Japanese?"

"Surprised by the large minority of the culture? Yeah, we're all half Japanese; though half of us don't look like it. We're the ones picked on the most because we don't look the part of a chink, ya know?"

"Horrible word." Sasuke muttered, frowning deeply. Naruto looked at him, his eyes softening.

"Yeah…It is." He said softly, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's waist. The black haired boy blushed while Sakura, who sat a few chairs away, giggled at the cute scene, and Shikamaru smirked while Neji silently laughed, looking a little more relaxed. Sasuke scowled, mentally telling them sarcastically he was glad he was their entertainment, before looking up at the stage.

"Who's first?"

"Kakashi and the amazing mask."

"Huh?"

"No one but a few select people—myself included—has ever seen Kakashi without the mask. He's gonna show us." Sasuke widened his eyes at this; he'd always wondered…

* * *

Itachi sighed, stretching his arms over his head as he sat up in his bed, looking at the clock and smiling softly; most likely the entertainment was going on now. He'd always found that amusing; especially Sasori's puppet show. He then sighed, shaking his head, and stood up, padding over to his closet and pulling out a pair of black pants, a simple black shirt, and then a black cloak-like coat with red clouds on it. He slipped it on, buttoning it up as he walked to the front door, slipping on his shoes. He then slipped out of the front door, and walked down the hall, going up the stairs to the roof.

He opened the door, peeking out quietly, before he let his eyes bleed red, and he walked out to see who was out there. He stopped, bowing slightly as someone stepped up, and Leader stood there, looking around the city with interested eyes.

"Your brother…"

"Has just joined Bijuu, yes."

"…Then you should tell him of your alliance, Sharingan." Itachi lowered his head, looking to the side.

"It would break him."

"Seems a lot of things will break your little brother, Sharingan; you shouldn't be afraid of him breaking though." Itachi's eyes narrowed and he looked up at the Leader with a slight frown on his pale face.

"He's a fragile boy."

"Why is that? Because you babied him?"

"Because I didn't protect him enough when he was young."

"You're too soft. You've grown weak. Before you would've willingly killed your entire family for Akatsuki. What happened?"

"…Orochimaru burned them down."


	14. Fear

A/N: ...I write for myself, just so you know. I write for my own pleasure; not for money, and not for critics. If you like my story, wonderful. I love you all, and you all become another reason why I write. But I write for myself through and through. Just thought I should say that before I go on to explain a bit of this chapter before you read. XD

This is the most fluffy/cracked chapter you will ever see from this fanfic. The love will happen, but the plot is very heavy in this story and is the main concept of it; the love is there to show that through all shit in the world, love can still exist. But just remember that it will be subtle here and there, and it'll grow stronger as the fic goes. It's not 'love' right now. It's 'attraction'. I just want to remind you of that.

Anyhow, if you find the beginning of this chapter...Cracked out, please don't accuse me of snorting coke. _(sigh)_ Yes it is a very...Insane part of the story, but I thought of that part in England, and I REALLY wanted to do it to show some other relationships in the gang; friendships and the sort. XD

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the chapter! I didn't update Wednesday since my sister turned twenty! WHOO! She is NO LONGER a teenager. Mah god. And all disclaimers except for the normal one is subtly put into the story. XD I'm sneaky and lazy like that.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

The Leader grinned, though you couldn't see it. Itachi just knew, though; his eyes creased upwards and he seemed to be more malicious than normal. Leader was a pretty vile guy; had never liked Sasuke or the other members of Itachi's family. They didn't have potential, and Sasuke was just a threat.

"Of course he did." He said softly, commenting on what Itachi had said. The man then nodded towards Itachi, looking towards the east. "I should go now." He said softly. "And you should head back inside. Who knows when dear brother will return?"

Itachi watched as Leader walked to the ledge of the building, climbed onto the side, then jumped down. He didn't even bother going over to see if he landed fine; he knew he did. This was leader; he landed with grace and ease. Even from the height of their building, he still landed perfectly.

He sighed, walking back to the door, climbing down the stairs. He didn't want to think of his meeting with Leader just now; it would trouble him and he didn't need to be troubled when Sasuke came home. The boy would be worried about his health and they'd have soup for dinner most likely. His stomach clenched.

Damn guilt…

* * *

Sasuke blinked as Kakashi took his bow and walked off, and then looked back at Naruto who was grinning happily. "That…Was utterly RETARDED." He commented simply. "And that was retarded because of the fact that all he did was build up tension and then pull down his mask to reveal ANOTHER MASK. How many death threats do you think he'll get?"

"Half the gang is already writing them." Naruto said offhandedly, looking around to see people, including Sakura and Temari, furiously scribbling down notes on paper that they had been given before the show. Sasuke now understood why… "Anyhow, the next show is kinda stupid as well; Sasori's puppet show? Yeah." Naruto shrugged, tightening his grip on the raven head and pulling him a little closer to the blonde.

Sasuke blinked, blushing a little, and didn't even notice when Sasori stepped onto stage doing his show of marionettes, people laughing at the stupid little jokes before he pulled out sock puppets, and started to hit one puppet on the head with a foam mallet the other one was gripping to. He only realized the show had gone on when he heard people clapping and laughing and Sasori bowing dramatically, stepping down again. Naruto was one of the people laughing and clapping lightly around Sasuke.

The dark haired boy sighed softly, looking up as he watched a few more acts, which included Tsunade and Sakura actually sparring—a frightening and interesting event because the two were monstrously strong and so they did have a hole in the back wall from where Sakura had thrown Tsunade into it. Sasuke made a mental note never to get on their bad side.

And finally, when Sasuke's butt was going numb, and he desperately wanted to go home to see how his Aniki was doing, the last act came up in the form of Kankuro, Gaara's older brother who was in a year above him, and Sakura, who had donned the largest smirk ever, which perfectly matched Kankuro's who looked at her. She looked back at him, their eyes met, and they both snickered. Sasuke blinked, slightly perturbed.

"Kankuro Sabaku and Sakura Haruno are really close friends; they used to hate each other but when Sakura saved Kankuro from death from poison in Sasori's weapon—that was before he became a spy, by the way—they became instantly close, Kankuro becoming like the older brother she never had. Temari thinks it sweet that he has a friend that he's protective of, and Gaara doesn't really care. It's Gaara, though, so that's nothing new." Naruto narrated, looking at the confused Sasuke in his lap. He shifted a little, loosing feeling in his legs, and Sasuke ended up in a different position in his lap. Naruto shrugged lightly, leaning his chin on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke blinked, feeling very much…Uke. And that was a feeling that he didn't want to feel; even if he did have the word in his name. He remembered Itachi's teasing of that when they were older and growled lightly under his breath, making Naruto blinked, before he shrugged again.

"So what do they do?"

"The show EVERYONE wants to see; duh." Sasuke blinked, dully noting that that wasn't the best clue in the world, before he turned to watch as Sakura sat on a box, Kankuro leaning against it and they looked around, before Sakura nodded to someone offstage. Familiar music that Sasuke recognized from a musical him and his family had once watched during a snow storm filled the cafeteria, and all talking halted as everyone turned to the front to watch.

Sakura shifted a bit, before she grinned, taking in a breath, before she opened her mouth and said loudly and melodically:

"Anything you can do, _I _can do better!"

"HAH!"

"I can do _anything _better than YOU."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can! YES I CAN!"

Kankuro scoffed, turning his nose away, before he grinned and started singing himself.

"Anything you can be I can be greater.

Sooner or later I'm greater than you."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am! YES I AM!

I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge."

"I can get a sparrow, with a bow and arrow!"

"I can live on bread and cheese!"

"And only on that?"

"Yep."

"So can a rat!"

"Ow." Kankuro rolled his eyes, before he stepped back as Sakura stood up, before he sang again.

"Any note you can sing I can sing higher!"

"I can sing any note HIGHER than you."

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't!

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't…!"

"Yes I, CAN!"

Kankuro stepped back, rubbing his ear slightly and looking at anyone in the audience with glasses to see if they were cracked, before looking back at the pink haired girl. "How do you sing that high?"

"I'm a GIRL!" She said indignantly, pointing to her skirt.

"…Coulda fooled me."

"Oohh..."

"Anything you can say I can say softer."

"I can say _anything _softer than you."

"…No you can't."

"….Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

You could barely hear them and then Sakura screams in Kankuro's ear:

"YES I CAN!"

Kankuro jumped back, and then regains composure, coughing into his fist.

"I can drink my liquor, faster than a flicker."

Sakura snorted. "I can drink it quicker, and get even sicker."

"That's better?" Sasuke muttered. Naruto shushed him.

"I can open any safe!"

"Without getting caught?"

"You bet."

"That's what I thought, You CROOK."

Kankuro shrugged. "Any note you can hold, I can hold longer."

Sakura smirked. "I can hold any note LONGER than you."

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't……..!" He sang out, holding 'can't' for a few seconds."

"Yes I…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ….c-can!" She sang out, holding 'I' for at least three to four minutes. Kankuro stared at her, rubbing her back a little.

"Yes you can!" Sakura coughed, smirking, and he blinked in confusion.

"Where do you keep all that air?"

"In my chest cavity."

"Oohh… … What chest?" SLAP!

Kankuro rubbed his head. "Anything you can say, I can say faster."

"I can say ANYTHING FASTER than_ you_." Sakura bit out, a little pissed. Sasuke then noticed her cheeks were a little red, along with Kankuro's…

"No you can't."

"Yes Ican."

"Noyoucan't."

"YesIcan, YESICAN!" Kankuro swore.

"I can jump a hurdle!"

"I can wear a girdle."

"I can knit a sweater."

"I can fill it BETTER!"

"I can do most anything!"

Sakura blinked, looking thoughtful. "Can you back a pie?"

Kankuro sighed. "No."

Sakura pouted. "Neither can I."

Kankuro shrugged, and then smirked. "Anything you can sing, I can sing sweeter."

Sakura grinned. "I can sing anything SWEETER than _you._"

Kankuro put his hand up, stopping the fast music, and slow music to the tune came on.

"No you can't…"

"Yes I, ca-a-a-a-an."

"No you CAAAan't." He sang, his octave going lower.

"Yes I CAAAN." She sang, octave going higher.

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"Oh no you can't."

"Oh yes I can." Kankuro scowled, stomping up to her with each word as she smirked.

"No you can't, can't, can't!" He said, stomping on the last 'can't' loudly. Sakura grinned.

"Yes I can, can, can!" She sang, mimicking him. She then positioned her self beside him, and they grabbed hands.

"No/Yes, you/I, can't/can!" They sang in unison, and they ended, Sakura jumping into Kankuro's arms. She then dropped out, bowing and laughing and Kankuro smirked smugly as everyone laughed and cheered. Sasuke looked at them closely, before his eyes widened.

"Holy shit, they're drunk."

Naruto laughed even louder.

* * *

Sakura grumbled something about bright lights a few hours later and Kankuro was barfing in the girl's washroom having run there because it was closest as Sasuke was still getting over the fact that they had done an entire song from _Annie Get Your Gun_, one of Itachi and his favourite plays. They had the show recorded so that they could watch it during snow storms. And they had done this song completely and totally DRUNK. Apparently, it was the only way to get them to do it willingly, so Naruto always made sure their drinks were spiked.

What a loving and caring friend he was; NOT.

Finally, Sasuke decided to slip away when Naruto wasn't anywhere in sight (he was currently helping Sakura get some pain killers). He slipped out unnoticed, making his way back down the sidewalk back towards his home. He shivered slightly at the chill that passed over him, hunching into his jacket as he cursed the winter chill through partially frozen lips now; the cold rush had come so quickly and effectively froze him to the bone.

As he turned a corner, he felt a drop of rain hit his nose and he flinched, frowning a little. Another hit his shoulder, and another, and another until it started to piss down rain. Sasuke scowled, pulling his jacket closer to him as he started to run through the rain. Suddenly, a bolt of lightening flashed through the city and he jumped, banging into someone's chest behind him.

He felt hands grip his arms in a semi-tight fashion, and he froze, looking behind him, only to see dark blue eyes looking down at him, a familiar blonde looking at him with slight fear on his face. "I…Was wondering where you went." Naruto mumbled, letting go of his arms slowly, almost hesitantly. Sasuke blinked, turning around and looking up at him slightly, since Naruto was a little taller than him.

"I left; my brother's home alone and I'm worried about him. He said he was sick." Sasuke said, looking to the ground as he said that to avoid Naruto's eyes; he didn't have time to get lost in them.

Naruto looked at him, cocking his head to the side, before he smiled slightly and nodded. "Mind if I come along?" Sasuke blinked, and then shrugged, looking up at him.

"If you want to." Naruto smiled slightly.

"I want to."

* * *

As the two boys walked towards Sasuke's apartment building quietly in the rain, Naruto once in a while, flinching at the sound of thunder, yellow eyes watched them quietly, a small, thoughtful expression on the pale, gaunt-looking face.

So, his little Sasuke had found someone new, hmm? It didn't seem normal; shouldn't he be in a mental ward for everything he remembered? He doubted anyone would be 'Normal' after remembering things like he did. Fires…Rainy nights…Rehabs…Who would stay sane?

Apparently Sasuke; or maybe he wasn't sane, but perfectly capable of acting it. Orochimaru smirked, lifting a hand as he sent out a few muggers he had hired, promising money. Only if they got him Sasuke. He might've wanted to kill him…But he wanted to see if he'd join him again; be his second-in-command.

"Just like old times." The man whispered as the muggers walked towards their targets. "Except…Different."

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, Naruto stopping only a millisecond later as they felt eyes on their backs; heard heavy breathing as around four large men stepped up behind them, all grinning a little stupidly. Naruto groaned in his head, knowing these were muggers, while Sasuke continued to look at the ground quietly, his hands twitching at his sides slightly.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke, his eyes widening when he saw the small, psychotic grin on his pale face. Naruto stepped back, biting the inside of his cheek; he hated this side of the Uchiha officially. He looked so…Blood thirsty. Insane. Unstable.

He looked around at the muggers, two cracking their knuckles, one hitting a pipe in his hand, and the other pulling out a knife. Sasuke's hand twitched again, his grin growing a little, and Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please calm down."

Sasuke blinked, the grin dropping, and he looked over at Naruto in confusion. "Huh?"

"You were turning into Chidori." Naruto replied, and then sighed, looking at the muggers. "I'll let Kyuubi handle these guys." He mumbled, closing his eyes. He was about to let his 'other' take control when Sasuke snorted, making him open his eyes.

"Who needs multiple personalities when we can take care of a bunch of idiots ourselves?" He said, looking at him, then grinning a little, showing he was still sane and not turning into Chidori. Naruto blinked, before he smirked; turning over a new leaf.

The blonde then nodded, turning to the muggers. "You're going down."

* * *

Itachi sighed as he sat on the window seat in his room, looking out as the rain pelted against the windows, knowing that Sasuke was walking through the downpour. And most likely he was going to be sick the next day; he didn't have a strong immune system. He'd catch colds and flues easier than anything.

He sighed, shivering in his seat, then reached over, grabbing the quilt on a chair near him, and wrapped it around him, burying himself in its warmth, the fading scent of his mother still on it. He smiled softly, taking in her scent quietly. He actually missed her…

He jumped out of his reverie when thunder clapped loudly right above him, lightening flashing in the window and he shuddered, curling up a little bit in his seat as he continued to watch the rain. He then silently sent a prayer to whoever would listen to a sinner such as himself to protect his brother, hands clasped in front of him.

He knew he'd never be forgiven for what he had done…But he could ask for Sasuke's forgiveness and safety, couldn't he?

* * *

Naruto ducked down, kicking one of the muggers under the shins, kicking him in the stomach as he fell down, watching as he flew into the one with the pipe. He looked fro the corner of his eye to see Sasuke using the one with the knife to attack the other weaponless mugger, and smirked. Sasuke was definitely a strategist; maybe not so much as Shikamaru who could think at least 50 steps, maybe more, ahead of his opponent, but Sasuke could manipulate his opponents to fight against each other.

Maybe it was a good thing he was on the Uchiha's good side.

He stood up as he saw both of his guys were out cold, watching as Sasuke slid under the one with the knife, the other guy chasing him under, making the two muggers topple over each other. Sasuke then snatched the knife that had been thrown as they dropped to the ground, and threw it into their hands which rested atop one another, pinning them together and to the wet, cold ground. The dark boy stepped back, looking over at Naruto and nodding. The blonde sighed, shrugging, and they continued walking, Sasuke looking back to see golden eyes watching him. His eyes widened, and he took a step closer to Naruto, who blinked in confusion.

"Cold." Sasuke mumbled simply. Naruto grinned, nodding as he looked at the wet boy beside him, before he wrapped an arm leisurely around his shoulders. Sasuke blushed a little, looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact with him so he wouldn't notice the red flush. Unfortunately for Sasuke and fortunately for Naruto, the blonde leader of the Bijuu Gang. Naruto snickered lightly, informing Sasuke he had seen it, and the Uchiha cursed under his breath.

"It's cute." Naruto said lightly, smiling at him. "Only on you, though."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke mumbled, and then looked up to see his apartment. He looked over at Naruto to say goodbye, but noticed that Naruto looked hesitant to go home. He sighed, not believing he was actually going to do this. "You want to come in? I'm sure Aniki wouldn't mind…"

"You sure?" Naruto asked, dropping his arm to his side as he looked at the slightly thinner teenager. He couldn't believe Sasuke was a year younger than him; sometimes he forgot he was only a second year, and not a third year like himself. Sasuke nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"You can get into some dry clothes; I'm sure Aniki has some."

"Tachi's clothes fitting me?" Naruto snorted at the thought. "Yeah, maybe. Alright, if you're sure." Sasuke nodded, and Naruto grinned like a fox, before he followed the raven head into the building, listening to the water as it dripped on the tiled floor, and then listening to it muffled as it landed on the carpet of the hallway, staining the dark colour of the carpet. Sasuke took out his keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside, slipping off his shoes and calling out 'I'm home!' to Itachi wherever he was.

Said young adult walked out to the front to see both of the drowned rats in the front foyer, and snorted at them, wrapped in a quilt in his pajamas, his feet bare. He actually did look ill, so maybe he hadn't lied to Sasuke. The older Uchiha then said he'd make them some hot chocolate, and then told Naruto to strip and get some clothes from his room, all the while Sasuke walked to his room, his door closing quietly as he went to change.

Naruto sighed, stripping right there, plopping his wet clothes on the floor, before he went to Itachi's room, rifling through his things before he grabbed an overly large black T-shirt, and dark grey sweatpants, tightening the drawstring when the pants practically slipped off of his naked waist, him having to had remove his boxers since they also soaked through in the rain.

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his limp blonde spikes, walking out of Itachi's room just as Sasuke walked out in a pair of his pjs, which consisted of a large T-shirt of navy blue that slipped over his left shoulder, showing off the pale skin, and a par of baggy black boxers that stopped a few inches above his knees, his shirt going well over his hips and what he had of a butt—which wasn't much.

Naruto turned to see Itachi placing two cups of steaming hot chocolate on the kitchen table, and both teenagers walked down the hall, sitting at different ends of the round table, claiming a cup as their own. Sasuke blew over his, taking a sip of it, savouring the warmth while Naruto took the spoon that Itachi offered and took a few spoonfuls of the hot drink. Sasuke shrugged lightly, not really caring that Naruto drank hot chocolate like that; his mother had, so he was used to it.

Itachi watched as the two drank their drinks, before he sighed, wrapping his blanket around him a little tighter, feeling a little warm. He sighed, walking to the cabinet and grabbing the thermometer, putting it into his mouth as he leaned against the counter, his back to it, as he looked at nothing.

Sasuke looked into his cup, before looking at Naruto. "You can spend the night, you know; I don't think Aniki will mind. Will you, Aniki?" Sasuke asked, looking back at his brother, only to see he was taking his temperature. The 21-year-old shook his head, though, smiling around the thermometer. Sasuke smiled back, and then looked at Naruto, cocking his head to the side. Naruto was just watching the brothers interact with one another, surprised to see how much softer Itachi seemed and how much more childish Sasuke seemed. He blinked, smiling easily.

"I'll need to call Kakashi and tell him." He said, shrugging slightly. Sasuke blinked, cocking his head to the side.

"Does he know you're not there anymore?"

"I'll leave a message on his cell phone; he'll get it when he notices I'm not there to bother anymore." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head and Itachi laughed silently, before the thermometer started to beep. He pulled it out, looking at it with curious eyes, noting he had a fever. He sighed, putting the thing away before he looked at them.

"Get to bed soon." He said, then nodded and left to go to sleep himself. Naruto sighed; shrugging as he finally took a sip from his cup, and not from his spoon. Sasuke took a few more sips, finishing his quickly. He then stood up, going over to put his cup in the sink, feeling Naruto's eyes on his back as he moved.

"So…You and Tachi get along well?" Naruto asked randomly, leaning back in his seat as he sipped some of his hot chocolate. Sasuke blinked, looking up at him from his spot at the sink, before he shrugged and nodded. Naruto sighed, finishing his drink, before he got up to put the cup in the sink. "You want to do something before bed?"

"We could watch a movie." Sasuke offered, pointing over to the VCRs and DVDs over by a TV with a normal sized stereo system. Naruto looked over at them, walking over to them slowly and crouching down, looking through different titles. He blinked, pulling a DVD out and looking at the cover, before looking at Sasuke. "Uhh…_Cats_?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We're musical people." He said simply. "Actually, our mom loved musicals. Most of them are hers. We've kept them and learned to appreciate them since Mom and Dad died." He sighed, walking over to Naruto and plucking out a movie. "This looks good? I've been meaning to watch it since we got it."

"_Fifty First Dates_…Yeah, sure."

* * *

About an hour or two later, you could find Sasuke yawning as the credits to the movie went by, blinking a little tiredly. "Huh, interesting. It was funny…Some parts were gross, though." He shuddered slightly at one part that flew through his mind, before he stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "You'll be sleeping on the floor in my room; it's better than the couch, trust me."

Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow, before he shrugged. Suddenly, a clap of thunder went off right above them, lightening flashing brightly, and they were plunged into darkness.

The blonde jumped, eyes going wide before he stiffened completely, vaguely hearing Sasuke curse as he made his way towards the cabinets in the kitchen area of the room, rifling through something before he pulled out something. A light suddenly flashed on his face, and wide blue eyes looked up into curious onyx ones. "You okay?"

"Uh...Y-yeah." Naruto said shakily, standing up slowly as he walked towards the raven headed boy. He gripped his arm a little tightly, and Sasuke looked at him, before he slid his arm out of his grasp, taking his hand itself. Naruto blinked, blushing a little, Sasuke not noticing since he was leading them around obstacles towards his room, still holding his hand loosely in his paler one.

Sasuke pushed open his door with his shoulder, looking around with his flashlight, before looking over at Naruto, blinking in confusion as fear was clearly evident in his dark eyes. This wasn't normal of Naruto…He didn't usually show fear; especially not in front of him. "What's up?" He asked him softly, turning around to look at him directly, eyes directed up just a little bit. Naruto looked down, locking their eyes together, before he looked away, flushing. Why was he suddenly blushing around Sasuke?

Was it because he knew he wasn't in control of the situation anymore?

"I'm…" he trailed off, saying the last bit silently, and Sasuke blinked, having not caught it.

"Pardon?"

"I said I'm afraid of the dark." Naruto said, frowning as he refused to meet Sasuke's eyes. The Uchiha blinked, before he smirked, lifting his chin to look at him. "What?" he asked uneasily.

"So is Aniki; you don't have to act ashamed. He deals with it by playing Monopoly or going to sleep before the blackout happens; like a sixth sense or something. If he can't do either, though, he'll crawl into my bed."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked, cocking his head to the side. Sharingan Itachi was afraid of the dark…Like him? Whoa…That was blackmail material.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, shrugging. He then sighed, dropping his hand as he scratched the back of his head. "Hey, if you want to…You could…Sleep in my bed with me." He said, looking at him. "It'll be warmer than the floor, especially with no power…And you don't have to be afraid of the dark since I'll be right there."

Naruto looked at him, before he smiled a little uneasily, not sure if this was the smartest decision with how he felt for the boy in front of him. "Thanks, teme."

"No problem, dobe." He then grabbed his hand again, leading him around his mess of a room to his bed, pulling back the covers. He turned off the flashlight, immediately feeling the difference of the grip on his hand, and he unconsciously squeezed Naruto's hand in comfort, climbing into his bed before he tugged the blonde into it. They shifted awkwardly for a moment until they got into a comfortable position with Naruto spooning behind Sasuke, both simultaneously and unconsciously thinking, 'it was like he was meant for me' before Sasuke pulled up the blankets over them, and fell asleep, Naruto not long after, after having shifted so a leg was between Sasuke's, his right arm was over Sasuke's hip, and his left arm was being used as a pillow for himself.

Itachi had gotten up a few minutes before this, and had just gotten to his room when a flash of lightening lit it up, briefly showing the scene between the two boys. Itachi smiled softly, shaking his head, before he left them to try to go back to sleep in his cold, DARK room.

Damn fears.


	15. Meet Kyuubi

A/N: OMFG long update! OO And you finally get some answers! On Kyuubi, on how Naruto feels about Sasuke being Chidori, etc.! Be excited. _(sigh) _ANYHOW! I hope you enjoy this long chapter; I felt bad for not updating for almost like...Two weeks was it? Or was it one? Anyhow, so I updated a day early. I'll try to update Wednesday; school's being very cruel to my person at the moment first. I hate French. I'm sorry to all French readers of this, but I really don't like your language. I'm forced to learn it though because I am Canadian and my parents want me to take it through High School. _(again with the sighing) _Anyhow! READ.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimto.

* * *

The rain had stopped sometime in the middle of the night, so when Uchiha Sasuke woke up from his slumber, he woke up to birds chirping and the early rush hour honking outside. He also woke up to an unfamiliar, but not exactly unpleasant, warmth spooned behind him, and to the familiar light snores of his brother at the foot of the bed. He sighed softly, looking over his shoulder to see Naruto's face only centimeters from his own. His eyes widened, but he didn't freak out as the events from last night played in his mind. He then sighed, making himself comfortable in Naruto's warm embrace.

Finally, after about ten minutes of this, he sat up slowly, carefully unpeeling Naruto's arm from his waist, and untangling their legs. He jumped over him, landing on the floor quietly, and walked to the foot of his bed, looking down at Itachi curled up right at the end of his bed. He smiled slightly, shaking his head. Itachi really did do silly things just to get over his fears.

He then stretched his arms over his head, looking at his clock and blinking. He had woken up two hours before his clock would go off. Wow; that wasn't normal for the dark haired teen. He then shrugged, deciding to leave it on to wake up the blonde and his brother, and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him silently.

* * *

Naruto's nose twitched and he mumbled something under his breath, before he snuggled deeper into the warm blankets, curling up slightly. It was then that his eyes snapped opened and he sat up, looking around with wide eyes. He then calmed down when he recognized this as Sasuke's room.

He smirked slightly, lying back down on Sasuke's bed and closing his eyes, letting the scent and warmth that was the dark boy surround him completely, calming his raging senses.

_**You love him, don't ya? **_

He blinked, surprised at the voice. He hadn't heard from this guy in his head for such a long time…Usually he stayed quiet if Naruto let him have his fun once in a while; he was pleased with that and left him alone after he did what he wanted.

'I don't.' He thought back to the voice, frowning slightly. 'I've known him little over two weeks, if that much.'

_**You've known OF him for longer, though. **_

'Could you not mention that? I'm still getting over the fact he's Chidori.'

_**He thinks you don't care about it; tell him the truth. **_

Naruto winced slightly at that. Now he knew the voice was right about that; he really should tell Sasuke how he felt about that…But he had a feeling Sasuke already knew. And he didn't want to destroy this fragile thing that they had.

He waited a few extra minutes to see if it would talk to him again, before he sighed and got up, heading to the bathroom to get freshened up, planning on stealing some of Itachi's clothes again.

* * *

When Naruto walked out of Itachi's bedroom, clad in a pair of black jeans and a blood red button up shirt unbutton with a black tank top underneath, he noticed that Sasuke was catching a piece of toast that popped out of the toaster, putting it on a plate and poring out orange juice, placing these on the table. He raised an eyebrow, blinking a little.

"I thought you couldn't cook?" He asked, sitting down at the table and picking up his fork, poking at the scrambled eggs in front of him. Sasuke sat down as well, shrugging slightly.

"I can't; I stole Itachi's recipe book." He said simply. "I woke up early so I thought I'd try something new." Naruto grinned at that, biting into his eggs and chewing critically, Sasuke waiting to see if he did okay. "Well?"

"Good." Naruto said simply, grinning. Sasuke nodded, and then went to eating his own breakfast, the two boys falling silent. They heard the door creak open at the end of the hall, and heard footsteps, before the dead-looking Itachi appeared, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he grinned sheepishly.

"Uhh…Morning." He said, then sighed and walked over to the couch, flopping down on it. He turned, so that his back was to the TV, his front gazing at the two boys eating. "Sasuke…I can't drive you today. I also need to call in sick from my job and school." Sasuke stood up, walking over to the phone and handing Itachi the device. He smiled. "You know me too well." He said, then sighed and he put the phone down, watching Sasuke pick up his empty plates and put them in the sink. "Do you work today?"

"After school." Sasuke said, looking at his brother. "Aniki, I hope you're feeling better when I get home." He said, looking worried. Itachi looked at him, before he sighed and slipped behind the back of the couch, laying on the piece of furniture as he looked up at the ceiling with blank eyes. He thought he felt familiar blue eyes trained on the spot where they thought his head was, and shuddered slightly, though not noticeably, before he turned onto his side, his eyes facing the back of the couch, before he curled up to sleep.

Sasuke sighed, going over and picking up Naruto's dishes, putting them in the sink before he went to the front door, slipping on his shoes, jacket and finally his backpack. "Come on, dobe." He called out. Naruto sighed, standing up and walking over to him, putting on his shoes, taking the offered dry jacket that belonged to Itachi and slipped on his backpack before he grinned at the younger Uchiha. "Later Tachi!" He called out to Itachi as Sasuke opened the door, and they left, Sasuke staying quiet.

Itachi sighed, opening his eyes briefly, before he curled up again. 'I'll tell him one day soon…'

* * *

When they came went up to the soaked roof as soon as they got to school, they noticed the entire gang waiting for them patiently, Shikamaru looking grim as he sat in his usual spot, hands together in his thinking posture. Naruto raised an eyebrow at their grim faces, even seeing members that never went up to the roof, before he sighed, crossing his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked simply.

Neji was the one to speak up as he looked at the ground. "We've been invited to a battle." He said softly. Naruto raised his other eyebrow, blinking a little. And this was bad…How? He could show off Sasuke now! "The gang's Oto."

Ah.

"When is said battle?" Naruto asked, hands going behind his head. Sasuke had stiffened beside him, but he paid no attention, still looking at the male Hyuuga as he waited for an answer. Neji pulled out his trusted cell phone then, looking at the time the call was made.

Before we continue, maybe you should know Neji's job a little more clearly. Neji worked as a spy and an informant, yes. But he was also the one that gangs called to plan a battle. Gangs, though they seem disorganized in books and movies were actually very organized. They never did anything off the fly unless they were fighting off muggers and the like. The only gang ever known to do something off the fly was the Shukaku Gang, but they're now dead.

So if you wanted to battle a specific gang, you needed to call their contactor, which was Neji's other role in Bijuu. He had a cell phone purposely for this job; it had all the numbers of the other gang's contactors, and he used it to store small tidbits of information on specific gang members that he happened to be assigned to watch. His recent subject was Sasuke, and he still had a lot to go through.

Back to the story, Neji was looking at the last call, before he sighed, flipping the phone closed. "An hour ago, max. Called me when I was getting ready for school." He said, and then sighed. "The contactor's some new guy in the gang; I didn't catch his name."

Naruto shrugged, looking to the sky for a minute. "It doesn't really matter. What matters is when do they want it?"

"Right now." Neji said, putting away his phone as he looked at the blonde leader. He then glanced at the newest member of the gang, and frowned. "I don't think we should go through with it." He muttered simply. "I think they're after Sasuke somehow."

"Not surprised." Naruto said lightly, before he smiled lightly and stretched his arms over his head. "We'll go; but only certain members will be going. Spies and Honour Members are to stay at school while I and the others go to have a little fun." Sasuke frowned at this, eyes narrowing slightly. "Hey, hey, Chidori, no glaring now." Naruto said, tapping his nose, making the Uchiha narrow his eyes.

"Chidori?" Sasuke repeated before he looked away from him, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking over to Neji and Shikamaru, the former looking at him with a careful gaze while the latter opened his lab top, and started to type into it about something or other. Naruto looked at him for a moment, before he smiled and scratched the back of his neck for a second before he looked at the regular members all looking at him expectantly.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's get our asses moving! Move it move it move it!" He said, clapping his hands with a smile and everyone scrambled to the stairs—at least those going to the battle while the others went to do their own thing.

Gaara walked by Sasuke, pausing in front of him as he looked down at him. "One day you will get to fight." He said softly, and a small smile lifted the corners of the grime line people called his mouth. "And that is the day I greatly look forward to."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the red head, and whistled. "Come on, Gaara! Get in gear!" He said, then sighed, waving to the other members before he himself went down the iron fire escape, Gaara following him after a few minutes. Sasuke sat there, looking at them as they left, before he looked to the ground, glaring at it with a deep scowl. Neji looked at him for a minute, before he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Sometimes Kyuubi does this." He said quietly. Sasuke turned his head a bit, so Neji knew he was listening to him; how he saw him move, we'll never know. "He'll just make the older, normal members go to the fights, leaving behind the 'special' ones. He doesn't want to overwhelm you. We'll start with small gang battles for you; even if you are a veteran when it comes to being in a gang, Bijuu works a little differently than most."

Shikamaru continued typing, his eyes flicking over the screen as he took over Neji's narration, Sasuke glancing over in his direction. "We're a family here; we protect each other. We're close and so there are usually no fights in between members. When someone is hurt we look for revenge for that person; when someone is killed we mourn, and then we hunt down the gang, killing the guy who killed our member. We haven't had any deaths in years though…" Shikamaru froze in his typing, his dark eyes glancing up at Sasuke who was now looking at the roof's flooring again. "I wonder what's going to happen now." He said simply. Neji smirked slightly, pulling out his cell phone and checking his text messages while Sasuke sighed, pulling out his headphone and putting them over his ears, turning up the volume as he listened to his music.

The fun was just beginning.

* * *

Orochimaru pushed back his dark hair as he saw the members walking towards their small group, smirking as he saw how small their numbers were; they must be the 'normal' members. Bijuu really was an interesting gang…

"Kyuubi!" He called out fake-cheerfully, waving as he walked over to them. Naruto stopped, putting out his arm to make the others stop behind him, Gaara's eyes narrowing as the pale man walked over to them, his eyes a dark gold glinting in the sunlight. "Glad you could make it; where's the rest of your gang?" He asked, looking around as if seeing them coming up behind them a little slower. He frowned when he saw no such thing, looking back at the blonde who was almost at his height. "No fighting the special members?" He asked, frowning slightly. "That's too bad; I have new members and I wanted to test them out on all of your members."

"Sorry, guess we'll just have to do." Naruto said, cracking his neck as he glared at him. "Out of my personal bubble; if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to hit on me." He said, narrowing his darkened blue eyes dangerously. Orochimaru wisely stepped back, looking at him with a look of contempt. "Go back to your rats, Orochimaru."

He smirked at him, raising a single elegant eyebrow and dropping the façade, before he nodded and walked backwards back to the Oto gang who stood around watching the interaction. He then turned, looking at them all with a look that said 'Silence' before he started to recount their plan. Gaara, who stood beside Naruto, narrowed his eyes even more, his hands fisting tightly in their crossed arm positions. "What is it, Shukaku?" Naruto asked simply, watching them carefully to see if they planned anything dirty. Gaara looked up at him, and then looked back at the members.

"I don't trust them." He said simply. Naruto winced, sighing as he closed his eyes, before he waved for the other members to walk up to them. Sakura walked over to his other side, looking at him with a single raised eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Alright guys; these opponents are not gonna play nice and cleanly this time. We don't have long to trash them so we gotta make insults quick and snappy. They're pulling something out." Hinata blinked, looking at him in confusion as she raised her hand. "Yes Hime?"

"H-how do you…kn-kn-know that they a-aren't going to…fight c-cleanly?" She asked, her voice littered with the normal stuttering. It must've meant she was nervous since she saw Naruto so tensed and Gaara frowning deeper than usual. Whenever the two top guys in Bijuu were tensed it meant nothing good would happen.

Naruto shrugged one shoulder, throwing a look over the other shoulder at the gang to see them all smiling, Orochimaru nodding. He then turned back to look at Hinata, and sighed softly.

"Gaara doesn't trust them."

* * *

Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a sigh as the boy read his newest novel, his work on the corner of his desk where he had become accustomed to put it. He then shook his head, stacking a pile of English test papers he had just finished marking, looking at them to see Sasuke's on the very top.

100 percent; not very surprising. Kakashi sighed, closing his only visible eye before he opened it again when he heard someone shift. He looked around, seeing Neji with his hand raised in the back. Kakashi nodded, indicating for him to come up to his desk, and the Hyuuga walked over to him, leaning on the tabletop as he leaned over to the silver haired English teacher.

"Sasuke's a little peeved at Naruto." He said softly, explaining Sasuke's more-than-usual dark aura. "So I don't think you should do anything to provoke him today. Say…Calling on him to answer; or even talking to him for that matter." He said, watching as Kakashi raised his visible silver eyebrow, before the man nodded, sighing softly and scratching his mask-covered cheek.

"Alright, thank you for telling me Neji." He said, looking at the pale eyed boy with his dark eye. "Now go back to your seat and 'sneakily' play around with your cell phone." Neji snorted, smirking at him as he walked back to his seat. The teacher looked over at Sasuke to see that he was still reading his book, flipping to the next page and looking at the text covering the page. He glanced up, his dark eyes meeting Kakashi's dark one, and they stared at each other for a long time, before smiled at him, the only indication of a smile that Sasuke could make out was when his eye made a happy little curve. He rolled his eyes, going back to his book, and Kakashi sighed.

This, he could tell right now, was going to be a very, _very _long day.

…Where was his Advil©?

* * *

Naruto ducked, scowling as Kidoumaru smirked at him, spinning his new weapons quickly and skillfully so that they were only blurs to the naked eye. He jumped back, flipping over in the air and landed feet away from his opponent, looking around to see Hinata getting beat down by one of the new members of the gang, coughing out blood as they punched her in the stomach. He growled, his eyes narrowing greatly seeing one of his closest friends spitting blood, before he turned and caught the knife in Kidoumaru's hand in his hand, clutching it tightly, watching as his blood slipped down the blade.

His narrowed eyes flashed between red and blue for a few seconds, before they stained red completely, and his face seemed to grow rougher, more animalistic as the three whisker scars on his cheeks deepened, claws and fangs lengthening on his hands and in his feet. He yanked to the knife out of Kidoumaru's hand, throwing it over his shoulder, before he spoke, his voice a few octaves lower, and grittier.

"This is the end." Kidoumaru's eyes widened as Naruto disappeared, before reappearing behind him, kicking him on the head, making him harshly hit the wall, his skull cracking open, blood spilling before he fell to the ground unconscious. Naruto landed on all fours, looking around, before he ran at Hinata's opponent, punching him in the jaw. He flew about two feet away from the young Hyuuga, clutching his jaws as he spat out blood, his eyes wide as he shrieked in pain. Naruto looked at Hinata to see her looking up at him with wide eyes, before he nodded and ran off, disappearing.

Gaara, who stood near two unconscious bodies of new members of Oto, looked over to his left to see a man screaming in agony, and Kidoumaru bleeding heavily, unconscious on the ground. He frowned, ignoring the smell of tempting blood, before he saw Naruto appear again, smashing two heads together closer to Orochimaru, who stood behind the gaggle of fighters, Kabuto by his side. The silver haired man looked nervous, seeing Naruto in such a rage, and Gaara snorted.

You are never allowed to make his members bleed; not the ones he held close to him. He'd get pissed off and out of control.

Kyuubi had no self restraint after all.

Kabuto stepped in front of Orochimaru as Naruto walked over to them, blood dripping off of his hands, staining his clothes as he fisted his hands angrily, eyes narrowed. This wasn't the same blonde he had seen his leader talking to before the fight had commenced. This was some blood thirsty…Monster!

Orochimaru, though, was curious, seeing the Uzumaki in such a state. He had heard rumours, of course, while he had been serving time about the new power of the gangs in the local cities. They said that he was a young blonde boy with a frightening power that he couldn't exactly control; sort of like a multiple personality. He had always been curious to meet him…

And now he had, and he could feel the killing intent rolling off of him in waves. Before the intent had been tiny; Naruto Uzumaki was not someone comfortable with death. This creature before him, though…This creature BASKED in the mere thought of a good, messy death involving a lot of blood and a lot of pain-filled screaming. He grinned sadistically, watching as the enraged boy grabbed Kabuto by the neck, throwing him to the side as if he were nothing, walking right up to Orochimaru.

"You're planning something." He said darkly. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, now seeing how this creature spoke. Straight to the point and blunt; no tact at all. His grin widened as the blonde narrowed his eyes.

"What do you call yourself?" Orochimaru asked instead of answering his statement. The boy cocked his head to the side, wondering if he should answer, before he decided that it was okay.

"I have many aliases; many of them are not flattering and usually bring chills down people's spines that know the ancient legends." He said, and Orochimaru listened with interest. "I am called Kyuubi no Kitsune, though; Kyuubi for short I suppose." Orochimaru nodded, placing a finger on his chin, before he grinned again.

"Kyuubi, a pleasure to finally meet you. I am called Manda."

"I know of you." Kyuubi replied, looking at him darkly. "And I care not for you; you plan something that deals with the kit's Uchiha."

"The kit's…? Who is this 'kit' you speak of?" Orochimaru asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. Kyuubi snorted, knowing that the snake-like man before him knew who he was speaking of.

"Uzumaki." He replied though, before he grabbed the man's neck, dragging him down to his eye level and sneering. "You go near that boy and I'll personally rip your throat out." He said, squeezing his hold on the man's neck. Orochimaru's eyes widened as his wind pipe was slowly being crushed, before he grabbed Kyuubi's rest, squeezing. Kyuubi blinked, before he threw Orochimaru to the side, watching with satisfaction as he hit the brick wall, his skull cracking loudly on the back of it, before he turned to the other members of the different gangs.

"He's finished; this fight is over." He said, before his eyes rolled into his skull and he fell to his knees.

* * *

Irony was a cruel thing.

Sasuke decided this as he, Shikamaru and Neji all sat around in their seats doing nothing during Drama; well, Sasuke was trying to get the burning image of Gai in his newest monstrosity of an outfit—how it was an outfit, he'd never know. The man had NO sense of style whatsoever.—but other than that they were pretty much doing nothing.

They were doing nothing because their writer, Tenten, had the script, and was currently at the gang war; she was the only special member to be able to go because she was good with weapons and distance fighting. Nara sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his seat, planning on taking a nap when Gai popped out of nowhere and grinned at them all with a blindingly white smile, winking at them. Sasuke shuddered, the finally thrown away image of Gai returning full force.

"Since your beautiful flower Tenten is not here with us you have nothing to do! Why do you not all go and HELP THE OTHER GROUPS?" He asked, throwing his arms out to his class, who all jumped at his sudden shouting. Sasuke leaned down lower in his chair, Neji pulled out his cell phone, looking to see if he missed any messages, and Shikamaru blinked lazily at Gai, getting the strongest urge to flip him off.

Gai stood there, now awkwardly, dropping his arms to his sides before he sighed, hanging his head down as tears poured down like rivers on his cheeks. "NONE OF YOU ARE ENTHUSIATIC! YOUR FLAMING YOUTH HAS BURNED OUT!"

"…Burn, Gai, BURN." Sasuke said simply, glaring at him, and Gai yipped, running away to go mark the test papers, pulling out his 'A PLUS!' stamp, and going on marking the pages, practically attacking one sheet, before he nervously put it in the pile. Sasuke sighed, shaking his head; he could already guess whose work THAT was…Gai made everything so obvious.

After a few more minutes of awkwardness, they fell back into silence, Shikamaru finally getting to sleep as Sasuke pulled out his headphones and played his music.

* * *

He groaned, suffering from a pounding headache and a sore back, before he opened his eyes, blue gaze glazed over slightly as he blinked blearily, looking around before he turned his head to see Hinata standing over him. She smiled at him kindly, before she helped him sit up, handing him some Advil© and a cup of water. The blonde took it thankfully, popping the pills in and swallowing them, washing out the after taste of the dry pills with the water, before he emptied the cup, crushing it. He nodded to Hinata in thanks, throwing his legs over the side of the bed he sat on in the abandoned hospital, looking over anyone else who might've been injured.

"Any casualties?" Naruto asked the medic, and Hinata jumped at the sudden sound of his voice, before she looked around, mentally going over check lists and names, before she shook her head.

"Nothing too serious; Tenten has a gash in her right forearm but that's when one of her weapons backfired on her." She said, looking at him. "You…Pretty much took care of everything, Naruto." She added after a moment's hesitation. Naruto sighed, running his fingers through blonde, spiky locks, looking at nothing in front of him.

"I know." He muttered softly, before he jumped down off of the table, stretching his arms over his head. "Where'd Oto go?"

"They left, taking their causalities with them; seems like Kidoumaru has a smashed skull and Orochimaru's head is fractured." Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes.

'You were always messy.'

_**I wouldn't be talking, kit. I'm the only reason why you guys won with so little injuries. **_

'You are also the reason why I fainted after the fighting was done.'

_**I drain you; nothing new. **_

'Shut up, you annoying voice in my head.'

Maybe we should finally explain how Kyuubi exists within Naruto.

And we shall do it in memory.

* * *

_Naruto sat in the small orphanage silently, looking at nothing as the rain fell down on the window, hitting the glass, making trails slip down it. He sighed, leaning his forehead on it, wanting a friend so badly…_

_He had always been alone, it seemed. He had once had his mother and father; but they had died in a car accident two years ago. He had been in this orphanage since then. Whenever families looked at him, they decided they didn't want to adopt him, and went on to someone different, leaving him to go back to his room rejected. _

_He lifted a hand, touching the glass quietly as he looked at nothing in front of him, sighing softly in sadness. He closed his eyes, about to fall into the made-up world he had created to make himself feel loved, when suddenly someone cleared their throat. _

_He jerked away from the window, looking around, but he saw no one in the large bedroom; he shared it with eleven other boys his age. He sighed, shaking his head, smiling a little pitifully; he was hearing things. He was about to get ready to go back to his imaginary world when he heard someone clearing their throat again. His eyes widened, and he looked around nervously, wondering if someone was hiding from him. He closed his eyes tightly, clapping his hands over his ears as he fell into utter darkness…_

_And finally saw **him**. He had long red hair and red eyes, with pale skin, and he wore a traditional, formal yukata of reds and gold's. He watched as multiple fox tails flicked behind him, and fox ears stood upright on top of his head, smiling a little ruefully at the child. _

"_Such a lonely kit you are." He said, walking over to him and kneeling in front of him. He placed a clawed hand on the blonde's cheek, and Naruto's eyes widened as he watched him. "Do you know where you are?" _

_He shook his head quickly, looking at him with wide eyes, and the creature rolled his eyes, smirking at his innocence. "You're in your mind. I live here; I've never spoken to you before, though." _

"…_Who are you?" Naruto finally spoke up, looking at him, and the creature laughed, showing off sharp canines, before he looked at him. _

"_I have many aliases, kit. Most of them would make your head spin; so I'll give you the simpler one of them." He said, and then stood up straight, helping Naruto up onto his feet. _

"_I'm called Kyuubi."

* * *

_Gaara sat in the darkest corner of the hospital, watching as Naruto shook his head, holding a hand to his temple, before he looked away; must've just had some sort of memory. He sighed; Naruto had always been weak whenever it came to his other half or remembering his past.

He heard someone laugh, and glanced over to see Temari and Kankuro talking, Kankuro waving around wildly trying to explain something and Temari laughing at his stupidity, before he looked away. His siblings had always been easygoing…More normal than himself; accepted by people while he was not. He sighed softly, closing his eyes quietly and sighed gently.

He would never be accepted into society…And he accepted that.

Who would accept a monster like him, after all?

* * *

Hinata smiled at Naruto who nodded to her, walking away from her to see the other members, before she finally caved in, leaning heavily against the table he had been laying on, a hand to her temple as she squinted her pale eyes at the light that was shining into the hospital from outside—right into her eyes.

She sighed, closing her eyes as her had ached, telling her she needed something to solve the pain, and she grabbed some pain killers, popping one in and swallowing some spare water, sighing quietly. She straightened when she saw someone walking towards her, and looked over to see Sakura looking at her with a curious expression.

"You okay, Hinata?" The pink haired girl asked, head cocked to the side. Hinata smiled and nodded, leaning her back against the table quietly. "You looked like you were in pain just now…"

"It's nothing." She said gently, and then coughed into her fist. "H-how's living with Ino?" She asked, falling back into her stuttering habit. Sakura looked at her for a minute longer critically, before she broke out into a grin, laughing lightly. Hinata looked at her questionably.

"It's been hectic, that's for sure. That girl's not a morning person; only way to drag her out of bed is to offer her coffee, and you gotta put the pot right under her nose." Hinata giggled lightly at that, smiling at the girl. "But its nice…Not being so lonely in the apartment. Since my parents are always gone, I'm usually alone and struggling to pay the rent; but now that Ino lives with me and we both work at the flower shop her dad owns, so we can finally pay the rent and the bills and stuff like that."

Hinata sighed, watching as Sakura continued to talk about how life was with her new loud roommate, though she was slowly tuning her out, thinking over the things going on in her life. She would have to talk to Neji-niisan soon…So that he could stop stressing about her and start thinking about himself. Like when was he going to find himself a girlfriend?

She giggled slightly at that and Sakura laughed as well, making the Hyuuga blink and look at her. "I know, ridiculous eh? It's so crazy; but that's Ino for you." Utterly confused, Hinata let out a meek smile, hoping that Sakura wouldn't catch the guilt in her eyes from not listening.

"Y-yeah…"

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he finished colouring the map that Kurenai had given them, watching as she spoke to the class about some homework assignment she was giving them that night, writing down the page number and the questions they were to do, before he sighed, writing it down on a piece of paper and packing up his stuff, leaning back in his chair.

Geography was a boring class, really; he did okay in it and didn't really care for it. Kurenai was an interesting teacher, though. She'd always talk to the students, trying to find out this and that about them; who was dating who and such things. Such as the drama of being a teenager. He shook his head, looking outside to see that it was windy out, and groaned quietly, closing his eyes, before he looked over at Kiba, who had this class with him, only to see him staring openly at him.

"What, Inuzuka?" He asked simply, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Kiba blinked, looking away for being caught, before he looked at him again.

"You're a screwed up child." He said simply, before going back to work. Sasuke blinked, before he sighed, shaking his head. He stood up as the bell rang, walking out of the class and then eventually out of the school, heading towards Konoha Books for his after school shift.

That was just…Really random.


	16. Am I a Murderer?

A/N: Nothing TOO exciting, really. You get to see which character's past is going to be revealed next, though! Aren't you all esctatic! Yes! Yes you are! Anyhow; before I continue to stroke a non-existent ego, I hope you enjoy this early update. I'll get back to scheduale on Wednesday, alright? Alright. I'll try not to do anymore late updates.

Oh! And this story has a few theme songs. I'll tell you one now: 'Poison' by Groove Coverage. It's...For a lot of the twisted relationships in the romantic/physical attraction section. XP If you can find any other good theme songs for this story, since there can be like, a million, really, could you tell me it? Thanks!

And someone asked me to roughly translate 'dobe' and 'teme'. I think teme is 'bastard', I'm not exactly sure. And I think 'dobe' is idiot? I don't know. All I know is that the Japanese use it. XD

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The song Sasuke is listening to is Schewarze Sonne, by E Nomine.

* * *

He walked quietly down the sidewalk, hands shoved into pockets, dark gaze at the cement under his feet. He heard people walking by on either side of him in both directions; people talking on cell phones, people walking quickly down the sidewalk late for appointments. He didn't care though as he hunched his shoulders up, listening to some song in a different language blaring from his headphones into his ears; but not so loud as to block out all noise.

He turned a sharp corner, getting out of the masses into an empty street. He stopped, lifting his eyes as he suspiciously looked around; Sasuke learned the hard way that no street was completely empty. And he was right; out of the corner of his left eye, he saw someone walking out of a nook, grinning at him a little coyly.

"Hello there; good sir." He said slyly, slinking up to him, looking at him with dull eyes. Sasuke watched him carefully, frowning. "I was wondering if you'd like to try my product. The first dose is free, of course."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, taking a step back. "No thanks." He said bluntly, narrowing his eyes. "I don't need to get into more of the same shit I was once in; I'll be leaving now." He nodded to the man, then walked off, not caring that the dealer was glaring at him angrily, shuffling off back into his dark nook. He subtly shook his head, eyes directed back at the grounds as he walked.

The Uchiha was used to this by now, really; drug dealers were everywhere after all. It wasn't surprising that they'd target young teenagers. Apparently they were the most impressionable. He rolled his dark eyes; he thought ten year olds were more impressionable, but that was his own opinion. So in truth, it didn't really matter.

He sighed as he lifted a hand from one of the depths of his pockets, rubbing the temple as a slight headache formed, warning him that a memory was pushing through. He sighed; what memories had he not uncovered? There were so many he had to figure out; just so he would know who he was. Was he the kid that got in trouble with the police for stealing the local chicken in the farm when he was younger? Was he the ten-year-old murderer?

He didn't know anymore.

So lost in though was he, that Sasuke didn't notice the figure in front of him until he bumped into the person. He blinked, taking a few steps back as the person grunted, and he turned off his CD player to apologize, looking up after having pressed the buttons on his player. His obsidian eyes met with smoldering gold, and everything around him froze.

Orochimaru smirked as he stood in front of Sasuke, his arms by his sides loosely, bandages well hidden under locks of black hair and invisible against his almost pure-white skin. The purple tattoos by his eyes stood out, and his face seemed gaunter than what he remembered; thinner and his cheekbones were highly defined. He wore a long black coat, a blue turtle neck underneath that with black slacks and dress shoes; as if he were going to an important meeting of his own like the people on the sidewalk prior.

"Sasuke," he greeted, grinning; the action reminding Sasuke of a snake. The man paused, as if waiting for Sasuke to return the greeting. Sasuke stood there stiffly though, his eyes wide and his entire body shaking as he looked at him.

Orochimaru Goizamu…The man who had changed his life forever….

The pale man smirked at him, walking over to him, completely oblivious to Sasuke's personally space as he placed his index finger under the boy's chin, lifting his head up so that obsidian once again met gold. Orochimaru licked his lips, and Sasuke shuddered at the sight of the long, snakelike tongue.

"It's been…So long." He said, accentuating his s's as he spoke, remind the Uchiha more and more of the creature he used as his gang name at times. He tilted his head to the side as Sasuke's wide eyes were staring at him with pure fear in their depths, a smile on his lips.

"I see you haven't gotten over…That night…"

_Cold lips on his skin, spider-like hands crawling around on his small chest and shoulders, pressing them down so he wouldn't move. The flick of a tongue in the hollow of the junction between his shoulder and neck caused him to gasp, chest lifting as his eyes widened. He heard Orochimaru laugh before he bit into the skin and he whimpered pathetically; it hurt. _

_Suddenly, he felt the older man shift, and his eyes widened as Orochimaru pulled back, a maniacal grin on his face. "This'll hurt." He said softly. Sasuke looked at him, wishing to scream, NEEDING to SCREAM. But before he could suck in the air; before he could scream out to his heart's content the word, 'help' as loud as he could, praying someone would hear him; pain. _

_Utter pain, muscles and skin ripping through, tearing, blood weeping from the new wound as he gasped loudly, making Orochimaru chuckle darkly. "Good boy…" He heard him whisper into his ear, and Sasuke continued to feel that pain; that glorious pain of the fleeting feeling of dying. _

_Finally, he filled his small lungs with air; lungs that were so screwed up from the things he had done; and he let out a blood curdling scream that made the crows fly off of the rooftops, people shut the lights off in their houses. The scream joined the loud crash of thunder, a bright flash of lightening illuminating the room for only a few seconds to see a boy in writhing pain and a man enjoying himself. _

_Finally, he pulled out and away from him, leaving the body to shake on the ground, his mouth opened in silent screaming as he stared vacantly at the roof, panting harshly. The man pushed back his long hair, pulling on discarded clothing. _

_Orochimaru stepped back, straightening out his clothes after having put them back on, and pushed some of his dark hair from his pale face, walking to the window in the recreation building, looking out of it, before he sighed. "Oh my, it's raining. This will make coming home difficult." He said, and then turned to Sasuke. _

"_Don't you agree, dear Sasuke?" _

_Sasuke finally closed his eyes, a tear falling down his cheek as he turned to his side, curling up in a ball, trying to make himself tiny as he bit back loud, body-racking sobs, blood pooled around him. Orochimaru laughed at his pathetic state, walking over to him and kneeling beside him. He stroked back sweat-slicked hair and Sasuke let out a small cry as if he had been struck. _

"_There, there…" The snakelike man had soothed. "Everything's over now. Go home; speak of this to no one. I won't hurt you; I've had my fun." He then stood up, smirking at the still crying Sasuke, before he left the boy to lie naked on the floor, rain falling down harshly. _

_He wouldn't move for the entire night, only coming home in the morning like a dead doll. _

Sasuke blinked, before he ripped himself away from Orochimaru, his eyes wide with fright. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed, before he ran around the older man, running down the street, trying so hard to get away from the man of his nightmares.

His mind was trying to get him to remember the pain in slow doses…Before he got them all…His mind was trying to tell him that he was not normal. He was not safe anywhere in the world…

Anywhere but one place.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he slumped on his couch at home, rubbing his temples as he kicked at the borrowed clothes on the floor. He had changed when he had gotten home, having gotten blood on Itachi's clothes; now he wore a simple black long sleeved shirt and blue jeans with white socks. Nothing fancy; just a pair of comfortable clothes. He had no one to impress at home; especially not Kakashi, so he didn't see the point in dressing like he normally did.

He heard Kakashi cooking in the kitchen, and summoned with his mind's eye what he would look like; holding a wooden spoon in one hand as he stirred the spaghetti sauce, his Icha Icha Paradise in his other hand; he would be wearing the traditional bright, frilly pink apron Naruto had gotten him for a trick gift, which said in bold, red letters, '#1 Mom'. Naruto had actually meant to throw it out after Kakashi's birthday, but the man had kept it, having said it suited him. He wouldn't have his complimentary mask and bandage on, leaving his face bare for any who wanted to peek into the kitchen window sneakily, and his hair would most likely be flopping a little over his left eye with the mysterious scar over it; the meaning of the scar even mysterious to his own charge.

He shook his head, smirking as he closed his eyes, relaxing after the eventful day; Sasuke had turned so cold to him after they had gone to school. Most likely it was because the blonde had called him by his gang name with a hint of bitterness in it, that most likely only the Uchiha and maybe Shikamaru had caught, but that didn't really matter. He sighed, shaking his head; he'd have to make it up to him tomorrow at school. How, was the question though?

Suddenly, someone started to pound on the door and Naruto blinked, wondering who it could be. He looked over to the doorway where Kakashi stood, holding a sauce-covered wooden spoon, before he sighed. "Come in; door's opened!" The blonde called out, and they heard the door being torn opened and hurried footsteps coming towards the living room where Naruto currently rested.

Sasuke rushed in past Kakashi, not caring the man's face was bare, and collided with Naruto, gripping to his shirt tightly with white knuckles, his eyes wide as he breathed heavily; as if he had run all the way from wherever he had come from to his home. How had he found his home anyhow? Did he look up 'Hatake'? Did Sakura or Ino tell him? They were in his building…

Naruto placed his hands gently on Sasuke's shoulders, looking at him in confusion as Sasuke curled himself against his chest, his eyes still wide as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He leaned his head down, looking into his dark eyes, and Sasuke looked at him, tears in his eyes though not falling.

"Sasuke…?" He asked softly. Sasuke shook his head, burying his face into his chest, curling up even more.

"Don't talk." He whispered after a few more minutes of awkward silence. "Please…Just…Let me hold you right now."

He sounded so much like a frightened child; how could he refuse? He moved his hands from his shoulders, only to wrap them around the thinner, paler boy, and held him carefully in his arms, resting his chin on top of his raven haired covered head, cheeks being tickled by the soft spikes. He heard his rattled breathing slowly start to calm down as his grip loosened slowly, eyes drooping closed.

Finally, after a few minutes of surrounding himself in Naruto's comforting presence, he fell asleep in his lap, the blonde's arms wrapped protectively around him.

Kakashi looked at the two boys, smiling and shaking his head, before he walked to the kitchen, putting down his book, remembering the page, before he grabbed the phone, dialing a familiar number.

It took only two rings before the person on the other side answered.

'Sasuke?' Itachi's rattled voice was heard, and Kakashi sighed softly; of course the older boy would be worried. It was way past their usual dinner time. Why was Sasuke out so late?

"No, Itachi; it's Kakashi. Sasuke's over here." He replied. He heard Itachi sigh in relief. "I think he should stay for a while; he was a little freaked out when he came here. How did he figure out where we lived?"

'I think he said he asked one of the girl's at school who live here; a floor below use I do believe.' He replied, finally calming, knowing where his brother was; in safe hands. 'Take care of him, okay? And send him home when he's ready.'

"Will do." Kakashi replied, smiling as he took down another plate for Sasuke, having another mouth to feed. He looked at the three plates, his stomach twisting as he remembered Iruka, before he shook his head. "See ya, Itachi."

'Thank you, Kakashi.' Itachi replied softly, before hanging up. Kakashi sighed, turning the phone off and putting it off to the side, grabbing a spice and putting it into the sauce, test tasting it. He nodded, then picked up his book and continued reading while Naruto continued to hold the now peacefully slumbering Uchiha in the other room.

* * *

Itachi sighed as he fell into his usual seat at the kitchen table, looking at nothing in front of him, blanket still wrapped around him tightly. He had begun to worry about his brother when Sasuke hadn't returned at the time he was supposed to after work. He had even called the bookstore and had spoken to Sarutobi about it, asking if Sasuke had stayed overtime. Sarutobi had replied that he hadn't, wanting to get home quickly to his ill brother. The conversation had ended, and Itachi started to stress; what if something had happened to him? He got mugged, maybe? A gang up of thugs?

When Kakashi had called and told him that Sasuke was over there, he had felt like a weight had lifted off of his chest, calming him down to almost normal. They had just hung up and now he just had to wait for his brother to come home when he could. He wondered what had happened to freak out his brother so.

He shook his head, getting up from his seat and walking to the cupboards, grabbing a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup©, dumping the contents into a pot and filling it with water, turning on the stove. He shook his head, quietly singing the Campbell theme song to himself off key.

Sasuke was right; he really COULDN'T sing…

* * *

Sasuke woke up about an hour later, still surrounded in Naruto's warmth, curled up against him, hands loosely clinging to his black shirt. He felt Naruto shift a little, and look down at him, Sasuke looking up to meet his gaze.

"Hey," the blonde said, smiling slightly. Sasuke nodded, leaning his head back onto Naruto's shoulder, and the Kyuubi boy sighed, rubbing his back softly. Something had happened; he guessed that much. He just wasn't sure _what_ happened, so he was confused as to why Sasuke was falling back into playing the dead doll that he had turned into after he had remembered…Crap.

"Sasuke, what did you remember?" Naruto asked softly, looking down at him with an intense gaze. Sasuke avoided his gaze, closing his eyes as he remembered the encounter…The memory…The sounds of his own screaming inside his mind…

"I bumped into Orochimaru." He said quietly. "I remembered everything about the night I was raped…" He felt Naruto's arms tighten around him and he worried that he might've said something to piss off the blonde.

"Damn that bastard…" He muttered darkly, before looking down at Sasuke. "Are you alright? Did he harm you in any way?"

"Mentally, he brought back my worst wound that hasn't scarred yet." He whispered softly. "Physically, all he did was lifting my chin so that I had to look him in the eye." He shuddered at the memory; those horrifyingly, beautiful golden eyes that haunted his dreams ever since he remembered what had happened in the school bathroom. Naruto swore under his breath, before he placed a soft, fleeting kiss to Sasuke's forehead, making the Uchiha widen his eyes and look up at the Uzumaki who smiled at him, before turning to the doorway.

Kakashi still stood there without his trademark mask and bandage, and Sasuke got his first look at his English teacher fully. He was handsome, he gave him that…

But still, this was his teacher, and he just didn't really care anymore.

"Tell anyone you've seen my face, Sasuke, and I will have to kill you." Kakashi said pleasantly, looking at him with his dark eye and his red eye, a scar running over the eyelid and cheek of the red eye; his left eye. He recognized the eye somehow, before he shook his head, not caring as Naruto nudged him, telling him silently to get up. Sasuke did so, standing up and Naruto stretched his legs out, gaining back feeling before he stood up, smirking at Kakashi.

"Is Sasuke-teme eating over?" He asked, nudging his shoulder into Sasuke's Sasuke looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Kakashi nodded, smiling a little at the interaction of the two boys, before he indicated that they should go to the kitchen. They followed him quietly, Naruto and Kakashi sitting in their regular, Sasuke taking the only free seat with food left. They all said a small prayer in their minds, before they started to eat, Kakashi and Naruto talking about this and that, Sasuke putting in his two cents whenever they asked his opinion.

To make a boring story short, it was one of the first dinners where Sasuke felt like he was part of a real family, and not just the broken remains of one.

* * *

"_A monster! A devil child!" The small boy winced, tears running down his cheeks as the man screamed at him bloody words, striking him with open palms, bruising delicate skin. "You killed her; you're the reason she's dead! You should've never been born! MURDER!" _

"_Father Stop!" A small blonde haired girl screamed, tears filling her dark green eyes as her younger brother held her back, brown hair falling messily into dark eyes, watching with wide eyes as the man they called father beat the small red headed boy, his light green eyes wide with pain as tears ran down pale cheeks; black, heavy rings around his eyes from self-induced insomnia. "Leave him alone!" _

"_Stay out of this Temari, you self-righteous bitch!" Their father screamed at her, glaring at her and she coiled back, hiding in her brother's protective arms as he tried his best to defend her from the harshness of his words and eyes. "And you, Kankuro! You're just as pathetic as the other two! I thought you were better than this!" He snorted, glaring at them all heatedly, before he briskly walked away, grabbing his coat and shoving his shoes on, grabbing his keys. They heard the door opening and slamming shut, before Temari broke free from Kankuro, falling beside Gaara as she collected him into her arms, holding him close to her chest. _

"_Gaara…Little brother, shh…He's gone now…" She whispered softly, kissing the small boy's forehead. She looked at the scars riddling his body, his cheek bleeding slightly. "We're here for you…We'll never leave you…" _

_The boy looked up with her with large, childlike, trusting eyes, before his fingers curled into her shirt, gripping it with white knuckles as he nodded furiously, staying close to her comfort and warmth; something he only got so much of… _

"_Never leave me…"

* * *

_Her eyes snapped opened as she burst up from her sleep, looking around only to see Gaara standing by her door, looking at her quietly. "Gaara…?" She asked; cocking her head to the side sleepily, loose hair falling into her face. "What's wrong, hun?"

"I heard you muttering in your sleep." He said softly, looking at her with a dead stare. She frowned a little, worried for the red headed boy; he had never been the same the night that father died…

"Bad dream." She replied after a bit, smiling and waving off what little concern her brother showed her; it meant a lot to her that he'd check if she was alright. He barely did that for either of them, and only for her it seemed. Kankuro had never seen his brother at the door. "You alright?" She asked, cocking her head to the side as he still stood there, staring at her from the door. He blinked, before he nodded slightly.

"Fine." He said simply. Temari nodded, and then patted her bed. He walked in quietly, being careful not to step on Tayuya, who slept on a mattress on the floor, before he sat cross legged on Temari's bed. Temari looked at him, smiling slightly. "What is it?"

"I don't think I can sleep again tonight; wanted to know if you wanted some company." She said simply, shrugging. Gaara looked at her carefully, before he let out a tiny, almost invisible, content smile. Temari saw it, though, even in the dark, and grinned; she had made him smile. "So, what do you do at night?"

"Watch you guys sleep, watch the stars." He said softly, looking off to the side as he spoke. "Sometimes I think to myself."

"Isn't it lonely?"

Gaara shook his head. "I'm never really alone." He mumbled, shifting a little uncomfortably. "You know that."

"Shukaku doesn't count." Temari said, looking at her brother with a frown. "Is he still talking to you?"

"He's calmed down since the last fight; the sight of blood made him ecstatic and he decided to leave me alone for a bit as reward for showing him such a sight." Temari shuddered from the memory of the battle; where Naruto had lost control and had nearly killed everyone there except for his team. Thankfully, he didn't; and he fractured Orochimaru's skull in the process which was a good thing.

"I'm sorry." The apology made Temari jump from her thoughts, looking at Gaara with wide, confused eyes.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I make you worry." He said, looking around. Temari looked at him, before she smiled softly, wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened, and she would've been afraid if she hadn't known that he wouldn't hurt her.

"That's normal; family members always worry about each other." She said softly, pulling back and smiling at him. Gaara looked at her, before he nodded, and stood up. "Where are you going?"

"The roof; I'm going to think." He said, stepping carefully around Tayuya, before looking at his sister again. He nodded in silence thanks, before he walked out, closing the door. Temari sighed, listening to him walk away, before she fell against her bed, eyes closed.

Her poor baby brother…

* * *

Sakura sighed softly as she rubbed her temples, looking at the papers in front of her with a glare. Damn History work…

A welcome interruption came in the form of her blonde roommate walking in with a mug of chamomile tea for her. Sakura smiled, taking the drink thankfully and sipping it, sighing softly. Ino sat on the desk, looking at the homework, before she shifted it, looking at the paperwork that involved the gang, frowning. "Member information?" She asked, raising a delicate eyebrow when she had seen her profile.

"I have to bring it out once in a while to make sure it's up-to-date." She replied easily, looking up at her. "Usually I have to do it at night in secrecy; ya know the whole 'my parents don't know' crap." She said, shrugging. "I decided to look at your bio first because, you know, you're my roommate and all."

"I'm flattered I'm first." Ino said, smirking a little sarcastically, before she looked at the papers again. "Seems like we all have pretty pathetic bios compared to Gaara and Naruto."

"Sasuke has the most impressive." Sakura said, pulling out Sasuke's folder, dropping it on top of everything. It made an impressive _thud_, and Ino nodded in appreciation, opening it and taking out a few folders. "His medical files are still missing, though." Sakura muttered, frowning. "Shikamaru's getting into that."

"He's our hacker; I would hope he had already gotten it." Ino said, frowning as she looked at Sakura quietly. "Why hasn't he gotten it?"

"Naruto said he told him the hospital must've upped security or something. He's got to be careful not to get caught, you know. We might be in a shady business; you're an information gatherer right in the battle field, and me? I'm a strategist and technical secretary of Bijuu. But Shikamaru's got a dangerous job; he's a hacker and he could be caught at any given moment. He could be hacked into one day, all information lost." She sighed, shaking her head. "That's why he has so many protection programs on that lab top of his; even I can't break his password and I've tried everything." Ino smirked.

"It's amazing; Sakura doesn't know the password of someone's computer!" Sakura playfully hit Ino's arm, grinning at her, a little annoyed. "What?"

"Watch yourself, Yamanaka; I know where you sleep."

"Across the hall from me!" Ino said, laughing. Sakura made a strange noise in the back of her throat, grabbing a nearby pillow and mashing it into Ino's face, making the blonde sputter, eyes wide as the pinkette smirked evilly, before she squealed, getting up and running away.

"You're gonna get it, Pinky!" She cried out, grabbing the offensive pillow and running after her roommate. "You will rue the day you smashed a pillow into Ino Yamanaka's face!"

"Are you sure I just won't laugh?"

"MAYBE IN YOUR GRAVE!"

* * *

Closing the door quietly, he grinned, leaning against the door as he looked at the people gathered around in the apartment in front of him; a small group of ragtag kids and a small percent of the original members of Oto. Orochimaru sighed, as if saddened by the thought of his gang breaking up slowly to runaways and traitors, before he walked towards them, shrugging out of his jacket. Kabuto took the jacket gracefully from him, putting it onto the coat rack as Orochimaru walked to a large, cushioned armchair, sitting in it tiredly.

"How was your walk?" Kabuto asked, bringing him a cup of herbal tea, holding it out for him. Orochimaru shook his head, waving the tea away, and Kabuto sighed, standing up and taking it back to the kitchenette, dumping the contents of the cup down the sink.

"Eventful." Orochimaru replied, closing his eyes. Some of the newer members shifted a little nervously in the presence of their leader, and they saw the undeniable quirk of pleasure on the pale man's face. Inevitably, he'd be pleased to know they feared him so.

"How so?" Kabuto asked, walking back over to him, standing beside the chair. Orochimaru opened his eyes, looking up at the oldest member of his gang and adopted son. He then grinned at the man, and inwardly laughed as Kabuto got a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

"I bumped into Sasuke. Literally." Kabuto's eyes widened behind his round lenses, and the members that knew Sasuke's name from when he had been in the gang looked up, looking at Orochimaru to see if he would dare continue. "He seemed a little afraid to see me; kind of hurt me right here." He said, patting the spot on his chest where his heart was beating, pumping blood through his veins.

"How did he look?" Kidoumaru asked, still a little sore about his shattered skull; he'd live though. He got a metal plate to replace the shattered bone thankfully. Orochimaru looked at the man who had an obsession with spiders, before he smirked slightly.

"Like he'll be brought down easily. If we can't get him to agree to come back, it'll be easy to kill him. He hasn't seemed to have awakened Chidori much anymore; frightened." He laughed cruelly. "The country has turned him soft."

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he walked beside Kakashi, who had his mask and bandage back on, looking forward with his single dark eye as they walked towards his apartment building. He had decided that he could finally go home, having calmed; when he had decided this, though, it was already getting dark out and so Kakashi said he'd walk him home, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

He sighed as he took out his key, unlocking the door to the lobby of the apartment, looking over at Kakashi who looked at him with a kind eye. "If you ever need to just get away from everything at school, you can come into the English room during Lunch, alright? And if it isn't at school, I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind you come to our home." He said, looking at him with a slight tilt to his head, showing he was sincere. Sasuke nodded, sighing as he opened the door, saying goodnight to Kakashi, before the door closed and clicked behind him, leaving the teacher outside for a few moments, before he looked to his left. "Shouldn't you be inside waiting for your brother?"

"Just thought I'd visit an old comrade." Itachi said, walking over to the teacher and looking at him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"You still in Bijuu?"

"Retired." Itachi laughed at that, Kakashi smiling under his mask.

"Never thought Raikiri would actually retire from the gang life." Itachi said, looking at him. "Why did you?"

"I'm just a simple English teacher now and I take care of my old boss; it'd be awkward if I were still in Bijuu." Itachi smirked, nodding. "Besides, I got sick of gangs after ANBU had to split up."

Itachi frowned. "You think I'd be tired of it too, after that." He said softly, looking at his old partner from ANBU. "Oh well; it doesn't really matter now. I gotta get to the room before Sasuke was."

"Good luck; he had a head start." Itachi grinned, waving to him before he went to a side door to the building, opening it, and running up the stairs at top speed, even though he was sick. Kakashi sighed, shaking his head, before he turned, walking back home. He was stopped, though, when Itachi's head popped out of the third story window from the stairwell.

"And happy birthday! It's in three days, right? September 15th!" Kakashi laughed, looking at him.

"Don't remind me!" Itachi laughed, before he disappeared, running up the stairs again. Kakashi sighed, shaking his head.

He really hasn't changed all that much…From the kid he used to work with.


	17. One Year Burning

A/N: BOO YAH BABY! I got my update on TIME! _(confetti) _WHEE! Anyhow, I liked this chapter plenty. You get to see the FIRE! and you get to see the beginnings of a DEATH and you get to see Kimimaro again! YAY! _(ish a fangirl of him) _I love him. Anyhow! Enjoy! Now gang violence; only a match of volleyball, really! And Temari and Tayuya driving people mad with CAMERAS! HAH.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

"And I am now officially a year older." Kakashi said dully, looking at his English class students of his first period. They looked back at him blankly, Sasuke raising a single eyebrow, as if silently questioning, 'And we care…Why?'

"If you can guess my age, I'll pass you for this entire term." And suddenly everyone was interested in figuring out how old Kakashi was.

"You are not allowed to ask for the year of my birth, you cannot ask my charge Naruto Uzumaki, nor do I think you want to, knowing who he is, and you cannot randomly guess. You must write out a three hundred word paragraph reasoning out why you think I am this old and why. See? I put an English assignment into this little hunt; don't you feel cheated on?" A few of the students threw dirty glares at him, but three of his students—Neji, Sasuke and Gaara—just got to work on the paper, having already got guesses.

He sighed, watching them as Sasuke scribbled in his neat handwriting, looking over at Neji's swerved cursive, and then finally to Gaara's neat print, a small smile underneath his mask. He then closed his eyes and leaned back, pulling out his favourite book and opening it to the page he had left off last, reading through it.

Sasuke sighed as he thought over the night he had gone to Naruto's after meeting up with Orochimaru, cringing slightly at the memory of the pale man. That had been three days ago…The week was almost over. He hadn't really been anywhere without the company of one of the members of Bijuu; all making sure he didn't have a run-in with the Oto leader again. Yesterday he had walked to his job with Shino; that was a conversation he'd never forget.

And why?

Shino said more than two sentences. He could not remember clearly what those sentences where, but he did learn that the Aburame could SPEAK. And that was something to be proud of, okay? He had learned that Shino was actually a third year student at Konoha High school, but he hadn't taken his second year of gym last year, so he had to take it this year. He was the new kid two years ago, and he had met Naruto first. Naruto had immediately declared him creepy, and had gotten him to join Bijuu when it was first starting to grow.

He had a father named Shibi, and his mother died when he was little, apparently. He likes to collect butterflies, and he has a large book collection of books about bugs. His father was the one who got him into bugs in the first place. He hid his eyes behind sunglasses because he said his eyes were sensitive to the sun, but he learned that he had dark green eyes; something only Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata Hyuuga knew about.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head as he brought himself back to the real world, closing his eyes as he summoned the image of Kakashi's face, before he got back to writing.

After about fifteen minutes of this, he stood up along with Gaara, and the two walked up to Kakashi's desk, handing him their papers. He blinked, collecting them and placing them in the pile to mark later, watching as other people slowly started to drift over to him. Neji got up after a few minutes longer, walking up to him and handing him his paper, before walking to his desk and pulling out his cell phone, going through messages he had missed while he had been doing his work. This was a lot, seeing as he was the contactor.

Kakashi, of course, saw this and stared at him for a long time, hoping that his deadpan stare would make him put away the cell phone. Neji just ignored the man, though, and the English teacher sighed, giving up and going back to his book. Sasuke snorted. So much like Kakashi.

Finally, when class was going to end in fifteen minutes, Kakashi collected the last of the papers, and started to mark them. All he did was look briefly through them, and a lot of people saw him making crossing motions; a large 'X' was at the top of their papers.

Finally, when Kakashi got to the three boys' papers, he red them, pen hovering over the paper. He made a few scribbles onto the top, before he stood up, passing the papers back.

"You all suck." He said to them all. Most of the class groaned while Kakashi bent down to whisper to Sasuke. "You, though, do not."

"And Neji and Gaara?"

"They don't suck either." Sasuke smirked, nodding as he looked at the paper.

_Good reasons; I shouldn't have shown my face!_

He then mentally marked his age just to torment him later.

Kakashi

Age: 27

* * *

_Their father was a drunkard. _

_That was something they always knew; whenever he walked into the house late at night, he would be staggering, and Kankuro would immediately hide Gaara behind him, looking up at his father with a critical eye. Their father, of course, would glare harshly back, and Kankuro would loose some of his bravery. _

"_Stop being a hero, boy. Let me see your mother's murderer." Temari would whimper at the name he called her baby brother, and Gaara would step out, even though Kankuro tried to stop him. _

_And then the same pattern would repeat over and over again, Temari crying in Kankuro's arms as Kankuro tried to comfort and protect her, all the while growing more and more hateful towards their father as he beat the red head down._

_One night, though, was different. Gaara had seemed so strange that night; he was quieter that usual, more conservative and introverted. He had sat on the couch all day, looking at the blank screen of the television as if he were waiting for someone. Temari had tried to once in a while talk to him, but he would blatantly ignore her, continuing his staring. Kankuro had even tried to talk to him; something that barely ever happened. It felt…Strange, that day. Something was off; like something was going to happen. _

_Gaara had been hearing the voice for a while now. It was this soft voice whispering inside his mind that told him to do things; horrible, terrible things. Make others feel his suffering; let others feel his pain too! Starting with his father; the causer of all his misfortune and sorrow._

_And he would.

* * *

_Naruto sat there in his class, his eyes closed as he listened to the teacher drone on about something he really didn't care about. He sighed softly as he opened his eyes in an uncaring manner, looking out the window he was conveniently placed beside as he looked out at the windy day; autumn was nearing and he was excited for that. And then, after autumn it'd be the season he hated most.

Winter…

He sighed as he shook his head, closing his eyes. He heard a dark chuckle in his mind, and scowled. 'What do you want?'

_**Nothing; thought I'd entertain myself by talking to the kit. **_

'I feel special; REALLY.' He thought sarcastically, inwardly rolling his eyes. Kyuubi laughed at that; more like a wheezy howl, but what was the difference?

_**Such impudence. Oh well; it matters not to me. Have you told the Uchiha about your dislike for him being Chidori? I was napping for a bit. **_

'Why couldn't you stay napping?'

**_I'm not hibernating. Now have you? _**There was a silence, and Kyuubi scowled. **_You haven't. I'm disappointed, boy._**

'Sorry I can't be like you and spit everything out whenever I can!' He snapped back in his mind.

Kyuubi and Naruto had been speaking to each other like this ever since Kyuubi had first appeared in his mind. The blonde had once asked, while residing in his mind, why the Kyuubi was there in the first place. Kyuubi had thought about this for a long time; why was he residing in such a child? And then he remembered.

"You're father wanted something of him to stay with you." He had replied. "He wanted you to have someone to talk to you when no one else would. He wanted…"

"He wanted…?" Naruto prompted on. Kyuubi sighed.

"He wanted you to have a friend."

And what kind of friend was Kyuubi? One of his closest, but that made him sound insane like Gaara. Now Naruto wasn't insane; he was perfectly sane with a good, clear head on his shoulders. Sure he acted a little stupid sometimes, but that was to lighten the mood and such. He had always wondered, though, how Kyuubi was a reminiscent of his late father.

"He loved foxes and he listened to the tale of the Kyuubi no Kitsune over and over again as a child. He had created me, and had told you so many stories of me when you were little that I grew into my own entity. When he was dying, his dying wish was for me to stay with you and make sure you always stayed safe."

It explained a lot of things about him; whenever he or his friends were in trouble, Kyuubi would come out and tear people apart, glaring bloody daggers at them until they left them alone, never to bother them again. Sometimes there was the odd knucklehead, but they barely showed up after one or two fights facing Kyuubi after the first time around.

Kyuubi sighed inside Naruto's head, and the teen perked up a little at the sound of his defeat; something he rarely heard. **_Kit…You'll have to tell him one day, you know. _**

Naruto sighed, closing his eyes as he subtly nodded. "I know."

* * *

Temari sighed heavily as Ebisu, her photography instructor, droned on and on about something that she already knew enough about to write a full out book on her own. She blew a piece of blonde hair from her face, glancing over to see Tayuya braiding the piece of hair that hung in between her eyes. She smiled slightly, nudging the pinkette as she nodded towards Ebisu. Tayuya got an evil grin of sorts on her face, and both girls grabbed their cameras, lifting them up subtly. Ebisu continued to talk about something, and they both nodded, before their cameras went off with a photo, blinding their teacher. He blinked, rubbing his eyes behind his sunglasses, hands in front of him.

"I say!"

"Tayuya, let's run!"

"Yeah!" The girls laughed evilly as they ran, their classroom exploded in laughter as Ebisu called after them, demanding that they return to the classroom or Tsunade would hear form this. Of course, they didn't listen as they ran down the halls with their cameras.

Temari skidded to a stop, looking into the Home Economics class to see Gaara cooking something in there, making her smile softly. She took the flash off of her camera, going up to the window, and taking a picture of her brother, before her and Tayuya ran down the halls again, the 14-year-old laughing as she ran with her 17-year-old friend.

Gaara blinked, looking at the door, feeling as though something had just happened, before he shook his head, going back to sautéing whatever it had been that he was sautéing.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms over her head as she watched Anko yelling at some poor kid in their gym class about using the wrong format, before she smiled at Sasuke, who nodded to her quietly. He seemed to be getting back to normal…That was a good sign, right?

She sighed as she ran her fingers through her short bubblegum pink locks, looking at the opposing team as they prepared to serve the ball. Ino, who was their current server, threw the ball into the air, whacking it over the net. Shino, who was on Sakura and Sasuke's side, hit the ball over the net, and Hinata, who was on the opposing side, bumped it up. Kiba got ready to spike it, when suddenly Sasuke jumped up, hitting the ball away from them and onto their side of the court. Anko looked over at Sasuke's team cheered happily, Shino smirking, before she blew into her whistle.

"Alright! Team Uchiha has won their last match! They will be going against Zabuza Momochi's volleyball team as of right now! He pulled his best players out of their classes right now, so you guys better get ready to pummel their asses!"

"HELL YEAH!" Sakura screamed, pumping her fist into the air with determined green eyes, other team members cracking their shoulders as Gaara stood there, having come back from Home Economics so that he could have his gym period; he split both of the classes. (A/N: XD….I messed up.)

The door opened to reveal an all boy team walk out, Naruto in front of them with a small frown on his face. Sasuke looked at him carefully, raising an eyebrow as their teacher, a tall man with dark hair and eyes, bandages covering his lower face, walked in after them, wearing a wife beater and dark grey shorts. He stood next to Anko who stood in her usual attire, a feral grin on her face, canines shining as the opposing team, Team Uzumaki, stood at the other side.

Teams Uzumaki and Uchiha looked each other down carefully, the captains walking up to shake hands. When Naruto and Sasuke's hands touched, a shock went down both of their arms and they both jumped, before they grasped, shaking hands. "Good luck." Naruto said, grinning like a fox. Sasuke 'hn'ed, and nodded, letting go and going back to his side as server. Anko tossed him the ball and he caught it easily, his hips tilted out as they always were. He spun the ball in his left hand for a moment, before he tossed it into the air, smacking it with his right fist, and watching as it flew over the net. He bent down to bump as soon as Naruto hit it back over, and he bumped it when it came right over him.

Anko grinned; this was going to be one interesting game.

* * *

Kankuro sighed as he stretched his arms over his head, grinning slightly after he finished his History test. The 3rd year leaned back in his seat as his teacher took the test paper, nodding to him before walking away from his desk, collecting other test papers. Kankuro sighed as he closed his eyes, before he heard the telltale sounds of giggling. He opened his eyes, glancing over to the door to see Temari standing there with her camera up as if she had just taken a picture.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped opened as Temari blew him a kiss, running away with a cackling Tayuya and he swore under his breath, swearing he'd get them back after school was done and teachers wouldn't stop him pummeling them to the ground via tickling. He did, after all, know their ticklish points.

The brown haired teen then grinned, shaking his head a he once again closed his eyes, sighing softly as he listened to the lulling sounds of the clock ticking the time away on the wall, getting ever-so-closer to third period with each tick.

How he wished he was in third period…!

* * *

Itachi yawned into his hand tiredly as he watched the customers walk in and out of the Video Shack; the name of the place he worked at. He smiled politely to a few women around his age walk by, waving at him, recognizing the handsome young man from school. As soon as they had their backs turned and were giggling to each other, though, Itachi would sigh in annoyance; now he knew how his brother felt.

Life at the Video Shack wasn't that exciting. They'd get a few customers in the morning, people buying used games and DVDs that they've been hunting down for months, they'd exclaim. He didn't really care; so long as they bought something, left, and he got paid. Then he would get along with everyone, and he would tolerate the women that would try to flirt with him.

Even though he was asexual.

He sighed, shaking his head as he leaned his arms on the counter, resting his head on his arms tiredly as he closed his eyes. He had gotten over his cold two days ago, having gotten back to work the day before, but not school. He had needed one more day of rest before he could do that; that and he needed to catch up on the missed shifts he had. He sighed as he rolled his eyes, remembering the angered face of his boss before snickering quietly.

The man was an idiot, really. He would never get frustrated that Itachi was always late everyday, but a few days of being missed because he was sick in bed, and he was down your neck in two seconds as soon as you came by to do the job you were hired to do. Weird logic, but who really cared when they were paid?

He sighed as he sat up, ringing up an old man's purchase and wishing him a good day, nodding to him as he left, before he went back into his resting, slouched position, changing his thought course to that of his brother and their late family. He thought back to what Leader had said to him the other night, when Sasuke had been initiated into Bijuu.

"_You've grown soft. You're too weak. Before you would've willingly killed your entire family for Akatsuki. What happened?" _

And his response…

"…_Orochimaru burned them down." _

His eyes narrowed and the blood in his veins seemed to pump faster through him at the thought of the pale, snakelike man that had destroyed his otouto's life after he had left the gang. First he turned him into the police, where he was sent to a rehabilitation centre; a place that Sasuke had hated and wanted to forcefully forget, but he didn't have the strength to use his own Sharingan eyes against himself.

And then, when they had moved…

Orochimaru had hunted them down. He had brought along with him his gang, and they had left a note for Sasuke, faking one of his friends and asking to meet him in his barn late one night. He was 12 when this had happened; two years since he had quit; a year since he ha been signed out of rehab and only a few months since he had forgotten his past almost totally. Itachi had still been working on clearing his mind then.

When Sasuke had gone to the barn like asked, Orochimaru had tossed a torch into a pile of hay that was soaked with gas, and the hay exploded, the entire barn catching on fire quickly like a dry, dead forest would after one tree was hit by lightening. Sasuke had screamed out for help at that, and had looked out the window, only to see Orochimaru's face. He had grown terrified, not having forgotten him, and had screamed even louder.

"_Mama! MAMA!" The faint, but desperate voice of Sasuke reached Mikoto Uchiha's ears, and her dark eyes widened as she bolted to her feet, rushing outside to her baby boy. She passed Fugaku Uchiha, and he ran after her, wondering what was wrong. Itachi had been in his room, and hadn't heard anything just yet. _

"_Mom! Dad! Somebody!" She heard his desperate voice inside, and opened with her husband's help, to see Sasuke sitting in the middle of a circle of fire. Fugaku's eyes widened and he hollered for Itachi, who had left his room as soon as he was called for, rushing outside seeing their barn house burning down. He looked around for what could've caused it when he caught flash of pale skin and turned to see Orochimaru standing there, mock-bowing before he left them. Itachi scowled, before rushing over to the opened barn doors to see Mikoto in the barn, wrapping Sasuke around in a fire blanket as the boy sobbed, his mother lifting him as Fugaku kept the doors opened. _

_Husband and wife looked at each other for a moment, before they hard cracking, and Mikoto looked up to see a beam falling at them. She threw Sasuke out of her arms to Itachi, who caught him, wrapping his arms tightly around the boy. Fugaku wrapped his arms around Mikoto as the beam fell on them, and they were crushed beneath the burning wood, Sasuke's ears filled forever with the screaming of his dying mother._

_The barn was engulfed in flames, and a sob broke out of the twelve-year-old's lips. "MOM! DAD! NOO!" _

Itachi blinked, clutching his head before he sat up to see the girls from before looking at him worriedly. "Are you alright, Itachi?" One asked softly. He looked at her, before he smiled weakly and nodded.

"Yeah," he said, and then straightened his shirt. "Is that all for today?"

* * *

Sasuke spiked the ball to the ground, watching with satisfaction as it hit Naruto's side's ground, before he stepped back, cracking his neck as he shook his arms, watching as Shino took the ball the other team rolled to him, bouncing it on the ground three times before he served it lower hand, watching with satisfaction behinds his glasses as the ball soared over the net. Rock Lee, who was on Naruto's team, jumped up with surprising speed, hitting the ball back with surprising strength.

"Sakura it's yours!" Sasuke called out, his eyes narrowed at the blonde as he waved cheekily at him; his trump card had been Lee ever since they had started the game! It was starting to bug him. And they hadn't switched in a while, so Gaara had yet to play.

Sakura nodded, volleying the ball, looking up desperately. "Help it!" She called out. A boy in their class with brown hair ran over to it, fisting a hand and hitting it over the net. A girl on Naruto's side bumped it into the air, and Naruto ran at it, spiking it. It hit the ground, and Sasuke swore under his breath as he kicked the ball over to them, Lee taking it gracefully, hands wrapped around in bandages as they usually were whenever he did sports.

Sasuke's team shifted over so that Sakura was out and Gaara entered, serving next. Lee served the ball over the net, and it came flying towards the red head who stood there calmly. Sasuke watched him carefully, wondering what he was going to do.

Gaara glanced up at it, and just as it was about to hit the ground, quicker than lightening he bent down, bumped it, and it soared over the net. Everyone was shocked that they forgot to save the ball and it hit on the opponent's side. Anko blew her whistle as Zabuza swore, and she grinned victoriously. "Thank you for proving once again that I rule." She said, doing the peace sign, before looking at the bell. "Now SCRAM!"

Everyone scuttled around the gym towards their changing rooms, and Naruto caught up with Sasuke, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "So…You beat our asses."

"Of course we did." He said, shrugging him off and walking away. Naruto blinked, before he sighed. Stupid, cold hearted teme…

* * *

"HELLO!"

Sasuke cringed as Gai jumped out, posing for them all, before he slumped into his beanbag chair. He watched him from his perch leaning against a box on the stage, looking at him with a blank expression as he smiled at them all, blinding smiles. So THAT'S where Lee got it from…

Neji sat beside him on the left, Shikamaru on the right and Tenten sat a bit away from them as they all listened to him.

"We are going to start performing out plays soon! I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you all do WELL! LET THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU AND HELP YOU PASS!" he then grabbed a fuzzy Cat-in-the-Hat hat from the ground, and rummaged through slips of paper, pulling them out.

"Kiba's group! PLEASE DO YOUR BEST!"

Sasuke sighed as he zoned out, watching as Kiba and a few other people, including Ino, got ready to perform, getting costumes and props ready. It was something about a guy going on vacation or whatever and he was attacked by cannibals. Sasuke didn't really care, watching dully as Gai seemed enraptured with the play, his wide, dark eyes sparkling happily. He shuddered; he sensed more rainbow nightmares.

Great.

* * *

Lunch was like heaven for the Uchiha as he walked outside, holding his lunch in one hand, zipping up his jacket with the other. He stopped when Chouji, Neji and Shikamaru stopped by the ladder, looking up at the roof, and the dark boy sighed, following after them as they climbed up the stairs. He sighed as he stretched his arms over his head, sitting by the stairs on the ground as he pulled out his hot soup in a thermos, opening it and sipping it quietly.

Suddenly, booted feet came into view, and Sasuke looked up black jean clad legs with silver chains, an orange and black jacket opened to reveal a black shirt with fishnet over it, and back fingerless gloves holding a tray of coffee from a local Starbucks©. He looked up at Naruto who was grinning at him, and he took one of the Starbucks© coffees with a silent nod in thanks, going back to his lunch silently. Naruto watched him for a moment, before he turned and left the Uchiha, going back to his side.

"Alright everyone; for the first time ever that we get to eat together." He said, raising his coffee. Everyone but Sakon, Ukon and Tayuya lifted their coffees, and Naruto looked at them, raising an eyebrow. "Guys?"

"Kimimaro's not here. What do we have to celebrate?"

"He's awakening." Hinata replied, smiling softly. "He's slowly coming back to consciousness; I'm checking on him after school to see how's he's doing."

Kimimaro was resting in his coma at the Hyuuga Complex, Neji and Hinata taking care of the young man. Naruto smiled at the young girl, nodding his thanks.

"Then we toast to Kimimaro." Everyone lifted theirs cups this time.

"To Kimimaro." They repeated.

"May he wake up healthier than he was before." Tayuya whispered. Everyone nodded, before drinking their hot drinks, sighing softly as the chatter filled the roof.

* * *

Kimimaro moaned on the bed, the machines next to him beeping, indicating his heart rate, his blood pressure, his saturation and his current states quietly. An oxygen mask was over his mouth and nose, giving him pure, clean oxygen through his partially opened mouth. IVs injecting medicine and blood were in his arm, different wires tapped onto his chest to keep a check on his heart rate.

He muttered something under his breath that wasn't distinguishable, before he squeezed his eyes. It almost seemed like he was suffering through a nightmare…

His heart started beating faster.


	18. A Play to Close My Eyes

A/N: I HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS!

**NO I AM NOT DISCONTINUING. **

BUT! I AM doing something important!

First, I'd like to say: THIS IS ALMOST OVER. ...  
Readers: WHAAA?  
Yeah, I know. After so much! There are so many questions left unanswered! Hinata, Kimimaro, Neji, everyone!  
Now here's my other announcement!  
THIS HAS A **_SEQUEL_**.  
...Did you see that? XD  
THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE! This story is going to have a sequel called 'Demons World'. It's going to take a year after everything happens! Now I can't say anything about it, since it'll spoil the end for you, but let's just say...  
HOLY CRAP KAKASHI'S PAST. And leave it at that.

Now I have one more announcement as well!  
THE SEUQUEL WON'T BE UP RIGHT AFTER THIS IS DONE.  
Now way, no how. I need a break from my baby. I have another Naruto story I have in my head, 'The Dark Side of the Moon'; the dark side of love and all that jazz. Naru/Sasu Sasu/Naru is in it, but it's not the main pairing! It takes place back in Japan when the Wester cultures were mixing with traditional; brothels, geisha houses nad whore houses were fashionable and popular back then. I'm not saying any other thing unless I wanna give away the main pairing. XD It's het, too, people.

After 'The Dark Side of the Moon' is done, 'Demons World' will start, and then that series will be over.  
AND ONE MORE ANNOUNCEMENT.

**_CHARACTER DEATH IS COMING_**.  
Guess who?

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_The door slammed. _

_He felt the heavy footsteps instead of hearing them; everything felt numb around him. He looked up sluggishly as he felt the footsteps come towards him. He saw his father looking at him with complete hatred; was this normal? For a father to hate his child so much? It was all he had ever known…_

_He saw him open his mouth, screaming at him most likely; but he heard nothing. He continued to just sit there, taking in the silent screaming, before the older man's grimy fingers grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him up to his eye level watching as he struggled to breathe. _

_He thought he heard 'murderer' before he was dropped gracelessly to the couch again. He bounced, before he climbed off of the couch. His father turned to him, glaring at him questioningly, growling out a question. He didn't hear it, though, and he walked towards the kitchen. _

_His father followed. _

_A voice inside of his head laughed darkly, and whispered softly into his ear. 'Let ME do this…I would be guilty letting such a tiny child do this.'_

"_No," he muttered, and his father stared at him oddly. "I will do this, Shukaku; be quiet and enjoy the sight." _

_Sound suddenly returned to him, and he heard his father take a step back. _

"_Sh-Shukaku?" He stuttered, his eyes widening as Gaara took a knife from the rack, turning towards him at an agonizingly slow pace. "I thought that that being died! With the last possessed one!" _

"_I'm not possessed." Gaara whispered slowly, looking up at him with dead eyes. "It is YOU WHO IS POSSESSED!" _

_He lunged forward, plunging the knife deep into his father's chest, twisting the blade gruelingly slow; watching as his father coughed blood, screaming in agony, eyes wide in pure unadulterated TORTURE. _

"_Does it hurt?" He whispered softly, watching as the blood oozed from his chest, staining the blade and his small, child hands. "Well? Answer me!" _

_His father's eyes stared up blankly, looking at nothing. _

"_Answer me!" Gaara screamed. _

"_ANSWER ME!" _

_He was dead.

* * *

_Temari looked down at the tombstones with a blank, tired look, holding a bouquet of white lilies in her hand; she had gone to Ino's parents' shop and bought them earlier.

"Thought I'd come to visit; Kankuro and Gaara would've come, but Kankuro's out again and Gaara…Gaara just doesn't want to come here anymore." She said, smiling a little sadly. "He feels terrible whenever he sees you…Not both of you, just Mom."

She kneeled down in front of one of the headstones, trailing her fingers along the name of their mother. "Gaara loves you, you know." She said softly. "But thanks to Dad, he blames himself for your death." She then placed the lilies on the ground in front of her mother's tombstone.

_Amarante Sabaku_

_A Daughter, Sister, Mother and Loving Wife_

_1960-1991_

_Rest in Peace_

"Sleep well, Mama." Temari whispered, before she stood up, brushing off her jeans as she adjusted her winter jacket, slipping her backpack back on from the ground and bowing in respect to her parents, before turning and walking away.

From behind a naked weeping willow, Gaara stood, leaning against the bark of the trunk, his eyes closed. "Rest in peace," he whispered, before he followed after Temari without the older girl knowing.

* * *

Naruto looked up as Gaara walked over to him on the roof, the blonde smiling at him. "Hey there, Gaara!" he said, patting the spot next to him on the edge of the roof. "Have a seat; what took you today? Even Temari was here before you! And she's always one of the last here."

"I was busy." Gaara muttered, sitting next to him and lacing his fingers together as he always did. "Where is Uchiha?"

"In Emo Corner," Naruto said offhandedly, pointing to the spot far away from him where Sasuke sat, listening to his music quietly. "He refuses to interact with us, so we call him the emo."

"That's…Odd." Gaara said, looking at him. "You seem…Distracted."

"I am!" Naruto said, pouting. "I lost yesterday to you guys, and Sasuke-teme didn't even tell me I did awesome! He just got all cold and shrugged me off. The bastard." Gaara looked at him, before he smirked.

"Looks like your interest…Has turned into a crush."

"SHUT. UP." Gaara shook with silent laughter, shaking his head a little as Naruto actually _blushed_, before he looked over at Sasuke again; the Uchiha was looking over at them with his onyx eyes, before he looked away again.

'And I think he has a crush on you too,' he thought, looking at the blonde beside him as he gazed longingly at Sasuke. Gaara smirked, shaking his head. 'Never thought I'd see the day…'

Naruto, meanwhile, sighed softly to himself. Yeah, he knew he had a crush on Sasuke; really, who wouldn't? Look at have the girls in the school; they all fawned over him whenever he walked through the halls.

As if sensing eyes on him, Sasuke turned his gaze to Naruto, and Naruto blinked, eyes widening when Sasuke turned his head slightly, hard eyes softening. Naruto smirked at him, and Sasuke turned away from him again, writing down whatever he was on a pad of paper in front of him.

* * *

Neji walked over to Sasuke, sitting next to him and looking at the pad of paper, raising an eyebrow. "And we have an up and coming artist." Sasuke shot him a glare, and Neji smirked, shrugging. "What'cha listening to, anyhow?"

"Apocolyptica©." He responded softly, sketching on the pad. "What do you want, Hyuuga?"

"Damn, your friends can't even sit with you anymore? What crawled up your butt and died?" Neji asked, looking at him with curiousity. Sasuke shrugged, not answering verbally. The bell then rang, and everyone packed up whatever they had been doing, Sasuke putting away his sketch pad, before pulling on his backpack, and walking off of the roof with Neji down towards English class.

He turned off his CD as they entered the school, putting his headphones around his neck as he walked beside Neji, Gaara just a little behind them as he usually was; the red head didn't walk with them a lot, because he liked to keep his distance.

Sasuke preferred it this way.

They entered the classroom, Sasuke going into his seat, backpack by his seat as he leaned back in his chair. He looked to the front on the chalkboard, where Kakashi had written the assignment at least an hour before he left for his coffee break, and pulled out his needed supplies. He took out a pen and a piece of loose leaf paper, taking his English textbook and flipping to the page, reading the story briefly, before he started to answer the questions.

Neji watched him from the corner of his eye as Sasuke sped through the questions, before he looked at Gaara, who frowned a little; he must've been watching the Uchiha as well. He watched him for a moment longer, before Sasuke pushed his work to the corner of his desk, reached into his bag and pulled out his sketch book again, taking a mechanical pencil, and continued his drawing from the roof.

The Hyuuga smirked, shaking his head slightly and went back to his own work, reading the story at his own pace.

A little after 25 minutes, Kakashi came sauntering in, looking at all the students as they did their own thing. They must've finished the assignment, then? He smiled, taking out his own orange book, and walked to the front where his desk was, sitting down. The class continued in silence, only broken by the occasional scratching of pencil against paper or the turning of a page in an interesting book.

* * *

"Because you guys won for my class this year, you all get to do whatever the hell you want. If it's just sitting on the bleachers and talking, whatever. This is a do what you will day, so enjoy it. These only happen once a month!" Anko declared, then smirked and nodded to them, walking off to her office and slamming the door shut.

The slam resounded in the large gym, before people ran around, getting balls and pulling out nets, people actually sitting on the bleachers to talk. Sasuke was dragged to a game of basketball with Sakura, the pinkette saying something along the lines of, 'We have to defeat Ino-pig's team because she mocked my hair!' or something. Whatever it was, it got him playing basketball.

He caught the large orange ball and dribbled it, looking around the small court they were playing on. He looked over to his right to see Gaara standing there; the red head was on his team again. He had come from his split class of Home Economics earlier than he usually did, and had decided to play the game of basketball.

The Uchiha faked a left, and then passed the ball to Gaara, who caught it, and threw it to the net. The net _swooshed _as the ball passed through it, and Sakura jumped, clapping happily just as the bell rang. Ino sulked on the other side, grumbling about something. Sabaku and Uchiha locked eyes for a minute, before they nodded, gaining a mutual respect for one another before they walked towards the change rooms.

Gaara walked beside him, which was out of the ordinary, and Sasuke got the feeling that the red head had something to say to him.

"Do you like Uzumaki?" Gaara asked gently, his voice barely above a whisper. Sasuke's eyes widened and the faintest of blushes covered his cheeks. A smirk lifted the corners of Gaara's mouth. "I'll take that as my answer." He then nodded to him, pushing open the door and going over to his small locker, grabbing his clothes and changing in front of the locker like he always did.

Sasuke stopped in front of the doors, looking at Gaara with a strange look, before some of the guys behind him pushed him out of their way. He shoved them back, before walking to his respective locker, stripping his gym uniform and pulling on his white long sleeved shirt, a black, short sleeved, button up shirt over that. He put on black jeans and buckled up a pair of black combat boots he had found in his closet one day, running his fingers through his spiked hair before he nodded at his appearance, walking away. He thought he felt eyes on his back, and turned slightly to see cold green eyes staring at him briefly before their owner turned away, slipping on their shirt quietly.

* * *

Gai held the fuzzy Cat-in-the-Hat hat happily (say that ten times fast), as he watched his students walk into the room. Sasuke slipped into his group, leaning against a box as Gai looked around to see if everyone was there, nodding happily.

"YOSH! Now today is a special day; my precious protégé Lee has come to watch a very special performance! I know I hold the hat of truth in my hands now," he indicated to the Cat-in-the-Hat hat. "But! I have already chosen the group! Now, before I tell you the group, everyone, please welcome Lee!"

A miniature Gai popped up, giving them all a blindingly white smile and thumbs up with a happy glint to his dark, circular eyes. "Hello fellow Dramatics! I am Rock Lee, but you can just call me Lee! I recognize a few faces here, and am pleased to know that you are also a lover of Drama!" He then turned to Gai. "Gai-sensei! Who is the group performing?"

"Well, Lee," Gai started, putting a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly a sunset appeared behind them, and sparkles were everywhere. Sasuke had slowly grown a fear of sparkles and curled into a ball at the sight of them. "We have a very special performance today; it's more serious that the previous ones, about something in real life! And that group is…"

"Us," Shikamaru muttered, eyes closed as if he were sleeping.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuuga, and Tenten Itsumi!" They stood up as they were called, Shikamaru sighing as he walked onto the stage.

"Told ya." He said simply, walking onto the stage while Ino, who was requested for this, dimmed the lights just as Gai and Lee sat down in their respective beanbag chairs.

Suddenly a spotlight hit the stage, and Sasuke sat there in what seemed to be his costume; a T-shirt and jeans, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, combat boots stretched in front of him in a lazy manner.

"They say that nighttime is when demons come out. Ghouls, vampires, the like." He started, his voice low and steady; as if he were casually talking. "The living dead of sorts. And I guess we are; hypothetically." He looked up, showing that he had created dark circles stark against his paper white skin. He stood up, kicking at the stool he had been sitting on so that it fell to it side, rolling a little, and a pair of hands grabbed them.

"What we are—what I am—are insomniacs. People who cannot physically sleep. They say that insomniacs get the most done; I guess that's true, we have enough time on our hands. But really, why would we try to do anything?" He smiled a little bitterly, the audience hushed silent. "We're just people, like all of you. Teenagers that want to have some fun and have the time; adults who wish to do the things that they couldn't do if they slept. Unable to rest after a full day of activity; school, work; raising a family. Things you are used to." He stopped walking, standing at the very edge of the stage, and looking at them.

"But we are not used to it. We don't sleep; and if we do, it's for short periods. I stopped sleeping years ago, and my doctors say that with the way I'm going, I'm going to die very young. Probably alone, in my small apartment, with my crappy job and my crappy education."

He turned, walking towards the back, before he turned his head slightly, looking at him. "But that, I already knew."

* * *

Hinata sighed softly, leaning her forehead against the cool metal post in the Hyuuga Compound. She had stayed home from school that day to look over Kimimaro who's conditioned had grown worse since the last time she had checked him. His heart rate had sped up sometime during the night, his saturation lowering and his breathing erratic.

Opening her pale eyes, she pulled back, going back to the pale boy and checking his stats, writing them down on his clipboard quietly, before she placed it at the edge of his bed again. She tapped the pillow beside his ears, breathing across his face. When she got no immediate reactions, she pulled back, timing his reaction time. About five minutes later, he shifted, making a face. She sighed, taking a binder with his state progress, writing down the time, before she snapped it shut, looking down at him.

"You were doing so much better." She said softly, smiling a little sadly. She was about to say something else when she suddenly grew pale, her hand going up to her throat. She gagged for a few minutes, falling to her knees, the binder clattering to the ground as suddenly she threw up, red liquid spilling out on the ground.

She winced as she spat out a blood gob from her mouth, looking at the mess she had made, before shakily getting to her feet, her white sweater staining with her own blood. She stripped it off to her bra, throwing it into a laundry basket, before she sighed, wrapping her arms around her torso and shivering. "Damn it." She whispered softly, stepping through her blood in her bare feet, tracking red footsteps through the wooden floors as she walked to her room.

She went through her drawers, grabbing a light purple silk sweater, and pulling it on over her head, straightening it out before she walked to her bathroom. She grabbed a face cloth, wetting it with warm water, before sitting on the edge of her tub, wiping her feet. "I'll have to call a maid to clean the blood…" She mumbled softly, closing her eyes. "Damn it…"

* * *

"Hey, kid, what are you doing up so late?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke, wearing a police hat slightly tilted. Sasuke looked at him, raising an eyebrow, before shrugging, looking away.

"I'm out here every night; and you ask me the same question every night."

"Don't you sleep?"

"Can't." He said, and then walked by him. Shikamaru shook his head, watching him, before looking at the audience.

"The kid's always out here around this time of night; just wandering. First time I saw him I thought he was some kind of hobo or something. But then I noticed that he wasn't dressed like one, and he showed me a student card and stuff like that; the things you gotta do. So I see him every night now, and that conversation goes on every night. Poor kid; being unable to sleep? It's gotta be worse than the night shift…" He sighed, shaking his head again, and turned, walking off stage just as the lights lowered.

Sasuke walked from the side just as the lights turned on again, and he looked at Tenten, inwardly blushing at her attire.

Tenten's role was a hooker who looked after Sasuke's character like an older sister would. But of course, she had to dress the part.

"That's Marie; a hooker in this side of town. First time I met her she tried to get me to take her services, but I declined." Sasuke said, watching as Tenten looked around quietly, the scene setting. "She's been like family since." Tenten then turned to him and smirked, as if just noticing him.

"Hey there," she sauntered over, placing an arm around his shoulder. Sasuke had to resist cringing at physical contact at the moment; memories still fresh, though he was trying to bury them. "How's the night for ya?"

"Boring."

"I could change that…"

"No, Marie; I'm not one of your costumers." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. Tenten looked at him, removing her arm as she crossed it.

"Something on your mind?"

"I'm just…Feeling more tired than usual." He said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Marie; I can't stick around tonight. I think I'm gonna…Go home or something."

"Alone? Child, you live with no one."

"Best that way." Sasuke muttered, waving and walking away. Tenten sighed, shaking her head.

"Poor kid…There's something wrong. He DOES look more tired than usual…" She then turned to the audience. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess you already know my name and what I'm doing hanging out with the kid." She said, smiling a little uneasily. "But still, the guy's like my little brother…I had a brother once…He was taken away by a foster agency." She shook her head. "Whatever."

* * *

Kakashi walked through the hospital hallways towards that ever-so-familiar room. He knew he was skipping out of a class; Tsunade had let him and was subbing in for him. He wondered how that was going…

He sensed a lot of repairs.

Sighing, he opened the door, stepping into Iruka's room to see no one was there. His eye widened, and he walked back to the hall, catching the arm of a nurse. "Excuse me, Miss, but wasn't Iruka Umino staying here?"

"Oh? He was, but he was moved to the critical ward last night; he seemed to have caught a cold of some sort. That's bad for someone in his condition."

"…Bad? How?" Kakashi asked, his skin turning paler. Critical ward…?

"When someone is going through the process of chemotherapy, they're completely vulnerable to illness because while it's killing the bad cells causing damage, it's also killing good cells to make sure he's healthy. The common cold could kill him at this moment; somehow he managed to catch the stomach flu and we're not sure how, yet…"

Kakashi inwardly winced, remembering when he had been sick a few days ago but continued with his daily life. He had gone to see Iruka and had removed his mask, warning him he was sick. Iruka hadn't cared, though.

"There's no visitors allowed in his room at the moment; he's in a completely sterile room and he's not allowed to have any visitors." She smiled kindly to him. "I'm sorry; having a friend suffer cancer must be horrible, and to learn they're in a worse state? I'm sorry. I should leave now." She nodded, waving, before she walked off, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum floor. Kakashi stood there, before he backed up against the wall, sliding down it slowly.

"Iruka…"

* * *

"This is the one guy I can stand in my apartment; he's the guy I pay the bill to." Sasuke said, looking at Neji as he sat on the stool from before, going through imaginary papers. "He may be an ass at times, but he's cool."

Neji looked up, raising an eyebrow. "I see you're up and about again, boy." He spoke, his voice toned differently than usual. "I don't really care though; rent's coming soon, ya got the money?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, looking at him for a moment. "I got it."

"Good; now go up to yer room." He said, looking away from him. Sasuke nodded, going behind stage and Neji watched him leave, and then looked back at the audience. "Name's Scott; the guy probably forgot to introduce me. I'm the manager of this apartment building. I found the kid on his own in the streets about three years ago; it seemed that his parents died in some sort of car accident, and he hadn't gotten over it. He ran from his uncle's place, he told me. I let him stay in an apartment for a while; noticed whenever I went to change the sheets the bed wasn't used. I asked him what was up, and he said he couldn't sleep. I was the one that took him to the doctor, and they said he had insomnia."

He sighed, standing up, running a hand through his hair. "He seems a little out of it these days; more…dazed than normal." He scowled. "Damn that kid, making me worry."

He then walked to the back, and the lights dimmed. Sasuke walked out and clapped twice, and the spotlight returned on him as he was once again standing in front of the audience, a small smirk on his face.

"I'm an insomniac; have been since Scott found me. I'm friends with a hooker and the unanswerable question to a cop. There are bunches of other people I hang around with as well, but they don't make big effects on my life." He then sat down slowly, looking at the floor in contemplation. "I think…That it's time for me to finally sleep." He said, then looked up at the audience and smirked. "See ya later, then."

He then lay down, and the lights went out. A soft dim came on, and Neji, Tenten and Shikamaru all went into the room, Neji checking Sasuke's pulse. He dropped his hand, shaking his head, and Tenten cried into Shikamaru's shoulder. The lights went out once again, before everything turned on, and they bowed.

Gai was the first to jump up to his feet and clap, followed by Lee who had tears running down his cheeks along with his teacher's. The group looked to each other, sensing good marks, before they walked to the door just as the bell rang, and it was finally lunch.

* * *

Naruto looked up as Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru and Tenten walked onto the roof, Sasuke going over to where he now always sat, pulling out his pad of paper again as he took out his apple. He took a bite of the apple, all the while sketching on the piece of paper in front of him intently.

Gaara walked on a few minutes later, followed by Temari and Kankuro, and they went to their respective seats. Finally, the last few regular members climbed onto the roof, most of the spies out into the school as well doing their jobs. Naruto looked at everyone, then nodded, and people pulled out paper lunch bags and boxed lunches, eating after given the go. Sasuke hadn't waited because he didn't need to; Honour Members were on the same level as the leader of the gang, and so got to do whatever they wanted. They could give orders if they wished to.

He watched Sasuke for a moment longer, before he groaned, standing up and stalking over to him. Neji and Shikamaru, who were sitting close by, wisely scooted away, and Nara started to talk to Akimichi, Hyuuga falling into conversation with Haruno as she gave him a brownie. Uchiha looked up as Uzumaki stopped in front of him, raising a dark brow. "Hm?"

"Can I talk to you, Sasuke?" He asked, crossing his arms. Sasuke shrugged, flipping his sketch pad closed and putting it to the side, though he looked in everyone in a way that said, 'Touch this and die painfully'. And knowing this was Chidori, they didn't doubt him. He followed the blonde off of the roof down the fire escape quietly, stopping at the second level, a level down from the roof and a level up from the ground.

"What's up?" Sasuke asked, standing in his trademark stance; hips tilted out slightly, hands in pockets, shoulders only a little bit hunched. Naruto looked at him, and then looked away.

"A lot's going on in my head at the moment." He muttered, frowning slightly. "And it's all gotta deal with YOU."

"Chidori," Sasuke muttered, closing his eyes. "You have a problem with that; I KNOW you have a problem with that. I'm not sure of your problem, but you're stiff around me. I'm kinda pissed off at that." He opened his eyes, the dark obsidian looking at him carefully; guarded. Naruto frowned. "What is it you want to say?"

"I hate Chidori," Naruto started, turning to look at the school grounds, leaning against the wrought iron railings of the fire escape. "I hate him more than I've ever hated anyone; except Orochimaru. I don't like the fact that you're Chidori, either. I like you; a lot. So I'm conflicted. I promised on Rin's grave I'd kill the man that killed her, but…That man is you, and I don't want to do that." He placed his hand over his eyes, sighing in defeat. "I have no shitting clue what to do."

"Kill me." Naruto's head shot up, and he looked at Sasuke with wide, disbelieving eyes. "I want to see if you can."

"Of course I can't!"

"Then you don't have to." Naruto blinked; had he just used reverse psychology on him? Was Sasuke really a shrink incognito? Sasuke smirked slightly at him. "Promises are easily broken and repaired; and I don't think Rin would mind if you didn't kill me. Was she one that was big on murder?"

"No…She hated it." Naruto muttered, smiling. "Main reason why Bijuu was formed in the first place; it was a safe haven for all half Japanese people to hide out. Have a family of their own, ya know, that stuff. She hated the idea of death, violence and murder, but sometimes we had to use it just to keep safe." Naruto sighed, closing his eyes. "I don't think she would've liked the idea of me killing someone who didn't even know what he was doing at the time."

He then turned to Sasuke, smirking. "Thanks; I needed to get that out." Sasuke nodded, looking away from him as Naruto continued to stare. The blonde watched him for a moment, before he leaned forward, taking his chin in his hand and turning his head to look him in the eye. "Never look away from me." He said softly.

Sasuke blushed a little at their close proximity, subtly gulping as he looked at him coolly; for a blushing teen, he still acted calm. "Hn."

"Better," Naruto said, smirking. "Oh! And…One more thing," Sasuke looked at him oddly, before suddenly lips were pressed against his, and he looked at Naruto's face to see his eyes were closed. He blushed heavier, before gently closing his eyes, pressing back a little.

Naruto then pulled back, smiling at him slightly. "Come on up when you're face ain't a tomato." He teased, poking his nose, before he walked up the stairs, going back to the roof. Sasuke pressed his hand to his lips, quietly contemplating to himself.

"…I like tomatoes."

* * *

Sasuke walked back up to the roof a few minutes later, looking as icy cold as before, though his eyes held certain warmth and his position was more relaxed than before. He went back to where he left his things, sitting down there and grabbing a sandwich from his lunch bag, picking up his pad and pencil, sketching on it again quietly.

He touched his lips quietly to himself, remembering the feel of Naruto's soft lips on his own, before he erased something on the paper, sketching it out slowly; softly, with light lead. He finished the sandwich, taking his juice box and drinking that as well; he shuddered slightly when a breeze blew by, tightening his coat, but letting his fingers freeze as he slowly finished the picture.

He felt a presence behind him, and turned to look up at Neji, who stood behind him, looking over his shoulder. "You're good," he commented, surprising the Uchiha. "I mean, really good. You haven't even seen the guy much, and you've gotten him down to the very last detail. …Is that a beauty mark?"

"Yeah; on the edge of his jaw by his left earlobe; I didn't notice it either until I got close enough." Sasuke said, smirking slightly. He then sighed; closing the sketch pad and looking up to see Sakura standing over him.

"Eh?"

"What were you and Naruto talking about?" Sakura asked, bending down so that her legs were still straight, but her back was down at a 90 degree angle, and her face was right up to his. "Eh?"

"Nothing." He replied easily, drinking his juice from a straw quietly. "We spoke of absolutely nothing…That has to do with you."

"SO YOU DID TALK ABOUT SOMETHING! Tell me! Please? I'm a girl; you can trust me!" Sakura declared, sitting down in front of him, hands clasped in a begging manner. "PLEASE?"

"It is because you are a female that I do not tell you; go away." Sasuke said, finishing his juice and stuffing it into his makeshift trash bag, standing up just as the bell rang.

"You're MEAN."

"Fact of life."

* * *

Math was starting to bore Sasuke; especially since he already knew all these theories and these equations. He had been tutored by Shikamaru because the Nara boy had said he had nothing better to do.

Asuma was talking about something that he didn't care about, when the dark skinned man stopped, and told them the homework, before walking over to Sasuke. "Hey there," he said, grinning as an unlit smoke hung from his lips. Sasuke gulped, gripping his throat quietly as the other students did the homework.

"You work at my old man's bookstore now?" Asuma asked, raising an eyebrow as he stood up straight, taking out a lighter and igniting it. "You don't mind if I smoke, do you?"

"No," Sasuke muttered, looking away. "And I work in Konoha Books; I suppose that must be your 'old man' as you said?"

"Heh, yeah it is. He called me the other night talking about his new assistant Sasuke Uchiha and I was like, 'That's my student!', so I thought I'd comment on it." He said, then sighed, leaning his head to the side. "You look kinda pained there, kid."

"It's your smoking…" Sasuke muttered, closing his eyes. "Somehow it's connected to me?"

"You're under aged Sasuke." Asuma said softly. He continued to watch as Sasuke grimaced, clutching his throat tighter. "Go outside and get some fresh air, kid." Asuma ordered, standing up and blowing the smoke to the side, blocking it with his hand. Sasuke nodded, standing up and collecting his things, walking outside quickly. Asuma watched him for a minute, before he told his class he'd be right back, walking out of his class across the hall, knowing on the door. "Knock, knock?"

Kurenai looked up from the desk, smiling at him kindly. "Hey there, Asuma," she greeted, walking over to him and leaning against the doorway; her students working away. "What's up? You looked stressed and you're smoking indoors."

Asuma sighed, looking to the side. "Sasuke Uchiha won't be coming to class." He said simply, looking at her. "He's acting funny."

"Funny ha-ha or funny weird?" Kurenai asked that legendary question, and Asuma smiled briefly, before exhaling the smoke, Kurenai waving it out of her face. He smiled apologetically, and then sighed.

"Funny weird; clutching his throat when I took my smoke." He replied, letting the cigarette rest in between his lips again. "I let him out so he could breathe; something's…Off about that kid."

"Yeah…" Kurenai agreed, frowning. "I noticed that."

* * *

He was going home early and he knew that; but he couldn't stand to be in that school for much longer.

Sighing softly, he closed his eyes as he walked, not noticing the eyes on him.

The owner of those eyes turned away, smiling in pleasure as they ran back to where a group of people where, Orochimaru standing amongst them. "We found him!" The small girl said, looking up at him with wide eyes, pleased with herself.

"Good child," Orochimaru purred, smiling sadistically.

"Finally, this war can end."


	19. Sketches

A/N: Wow. Second to last chapter, and it's fourteen pages long. How long will the last chapter be? Probably long; it's completely action, making up for the lack of action in both romance and violence in this entire story. Plot was big in this thing; and that will continue in the sequel when I start that. I have an idea for a beginning chapter for that already. XD But remember; it's being posted AFTER 'The Dark Side of the Moon'. Alright? OKAY!

Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter! XD

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto. OC belong to me.

* * *

Three months had passed, along with many birthdays. The health teacher, Hayate Gekkou celebrated his birthday, along with Ino, the woodshop teacher Izumo Kamizuki, Jiraiya, Lee, Anko, Shikamaru, Asuma, Tayuya, Orochimaru and Naruto. It was now December, and two weeks before Christmas.

It was chilly outside now, with snow blanketing the ground, so Bijuu decided to stalk the stage, laying claim and kicking off those who usually sat on it; though those people didn't mind because they now got to see the members of Bijuu up close and not just their silhouettes on the roof outside.

Sakura was modeling a new shirt she had bought the other day with her own money to Neji and Ino, both who looked at it with smirks on their faces. It was a pink T-shirt, with red letters saying on the front, 'Dear Santa, I Can Explain…' When Ino had caught sight of the shirt that morning, she had laughed so hard that she choked on the air she was inhaling, and Neji just smirked, shaking his head.

Sasuke, though, was sitting next to Naruto, a little quieter than usual as he sketched in his sketchpad. Whenever Naruto tried to glance over at the paper, the glare of deep obsidian eyes would catch him, and he'd go back to talking to Gaara; the red head only inwardly snickering, but outwardly was the face of indifference.

When the bell rang, everyone grabbed their things and jumped off of the stage, making their way to their classes. Sasuke closed his sketchpad, carefully sliding it into his backpack before he zipped it and slid off of the stage, Naruto waiting for him on the floor in front of the stage. The two then walked out of the caf and down the halls; hands brushing softly.

Their relationship had grown over the past few months into something that the members of the gang liked to name, 'The Unsteady but Steady Couple'. They would sit together one day, talking and laughing over something, Naruto sometimes playing with Sasuke's hair, and then the next day Sasuke would be sitting with Neji, Shikamaru and Chouji, sketching while Naruto brooded over with Gaara, muttering darkly and shooting glares at Sasuke. But by the next day things were good again and they'd be back to talking like civilized people.

It was a strange relationship, but one that the two could agree on at the moment; what with everything happening. More incidences had of course occurred. Naruto had met up with Orochimaru on more than one occasion, demanding that he leave the Uchiha alone, and the man would just laugh, walking away. Tayuya had fallen into a state of violent depression because of Kimimaro's state of health; his comatose hadn't improved, nor had it worsened. Hinata had declared him in a state of limbo and that all she could do now was take care of him as best as she could.

Hinata had grown a little weaker over the months, making Neji more stressed than before, coming to school with bandages around his knuckles; the faint stain of blood on the white gauze. Sakura had, of coursed, freaked when she saw this, and he had started to talk to her more than before, making Sasuke curious about how they acted around each other. He would then push the thought away, just thinking that Neji needed someone to talk to about Hinata, and who better than a female?

Yamato and Sai had appeared at Naruto's house on some occasions, being Naruto's official spies on the streets since they lived in that old abandoned house and so they saw a lot. Orochimaru seemed to be plotting something, though they weren't sure what exactly he was planning; but the disappearance of children was appearing everywhere, driving the city into a state of panic.

And amidst all this, Sasuke was slowly learning how to learn and control his Sharingan eyes, which Itachi taught him. Itachi had a gnawing feeling in his stomach as the days turned to weeks these past few months; knowing something was wrong in the city. He just couldn't decide what it was, though, and that bothered him to no end. He had yet to tell Sasuke of his allegiance to Akatsuki; though he had been giving him hints. Of course, Sasuke couldn't read these hints because he was too busy being stressed about the upcoming exams and final projects that his teachers were piling on top of him. And then there was the fact that he was learning the Sharingan, on top of all that; and then his work in Bijuu, for Honour Members did have jobs in the gang.

His job was to overlook every department in the gang, and then make a report in it and file it to Naruto who would look at the shortened version of the reports, and lock the file away somewhere in a safe. Before Sasuke had come, that job had belonged to Sakura, who complained about her amount of work so much that he split the job to her and Gaara; Gaara having no outward complaints though he did glare at the paper hot enough that Naruto swore he once saw the future report steaming.

And then there were Sasuke's actual lessons in the art of the Sharingan. Learning how to use this talent also meant learning the history of the eye and where it came from; the legends following it and the time back to when it first appeared and how it evolved over the years. So, Sasuke technically had seven classes; five at school and two at home. And Itachi did give him homework; not hard work because what could you do to your brother on the subject? So he just told Sasuke to practice his eyes everyday after he came home from work.

And speaking of Sasuke's job…

Sarutobi had given the boy a raise, but following that raise as more work. Now Sasuke managed the cashier and he signed the papers for when the orders of new books came. He also called authors to see if they would come for a book signing with their new release. Sometimes he got yelled at by the editors of the authors and other times the editor would be kind and accept the offer, booking the day and the time. It's not like Sasuke didn't like the extra money and the extra trust Sarutobi gave him—it made him feel important and everything—but he had a lot on his plate at the moment.

Sasuke sighed as he stood in front of his English class, looking at the door blankly. He felt Naruto take his hand, squeezing it slightly, and he returned the action after a few seconds. "It's English; what's Kakashi going to do?" Naruto asked teasingly, smiling at him. "Why do you look so worried?"

"I'm not worried," Sasuke muttered, slipping his hand out of the blonde's tan one, and placing his hand on the doorknob. "I'm just stressed; and something's eating at me." He then glanced at Naruto, nodding to him, and opened the door, slipping in and closing it behind him.

He sat down in his usual seat, taking out a book and sitting back comfortably as he flipped to the page he had marked, blocking out the noise that the others were making. Naruto looked in through the window, catching the eyes of Neji and Gaara, before he nodded and walked away, gone down to his own class.

* * *

"Alright, maggots!" Anko called out, looking at all the students standing there awkwardly, fists on her hips as she grinned at them with her fangs glinting dangerously. "Christmas is in two weeks, and so we're gonna play, 'Let's Pick a Game to Play!' in gym class! We following here?" The students nodded, Sakura and Ino beaming at the thought of competition with each other. Gaara stood a little away from Sasuke, who stood next to Sakura, looking at her oddly; Shino was standing with Hinata talking to her quietly while the Hyuuga girl seemed to brush off his question.

"OKAY! So we have a choice of games; dodge ball, fireball, tug of war, or mission impossible."

"Mission Impossible?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell is THAT?"

"That, Uchiha, is the best game in CREATION." Anko said dramatically that she could've put Gai out of a job; though she hated Drama because she called the students going into it a bunch of wusses. "It's like an obstacle course! We'll place mats, hoops, sticks, a 'Poison Ball', carpet rugs and scooters for you to get across the floor to the other side; you're not allowed to step on the floor unless you're in a hoop or you're the Poison Ball thrower. I'll be throwing the Poison Ball. NOW! Team A shall be Uchiha, Haruno, Sabaku…" Anko listed off the people on Team A, pointing them to one side of the gym as she walked to the closet.

"And Team Be will be the leftovers! Alright, maggots! First, a handful of kids get to help. Haruno! Yamanaka! Since you two like to compete so much, you get to see who sets up the floor fastest!" There was a blur of pink and yellow as they rushed to the large closet, and the other students and Anko pressed themselves against the wall as faster than they could comprehend, the floor was styled in a complicated twist of things.

Sasuke watched with disinterest as he thought of his life as of late. The gang had been hectic lately; it seemed that as Christmas got nearer, the fights the gang was asked to participate in got more and more numerous. He had started to fight with the gang, and he had gained his old name for himself; except now it had an adjustment. Sasuke didn't kill people anymore, knowing it was morally wrong. Whenever he got too into it, and Chidori would wake up, he would be knocked out by the closest member; Hinata and Neji were usually the ones that did it because he stuck around the Hyuugas whenever he fought, knowing that Neji had to protect Hinata but he had to protect himself at the same time; something that was difficult to do. People started to fear him again, and he was up in the 'most deadly' gang fighters along there with Naruto and Kakashi and—of course—Orochimaru.

Whenever he saw Orochimaru's name—on the TV, in the paper, on the internet—memories would flood his mind, and he would pick up the phone and call Naruto. He didn't care that it seemed like he only survived that experience with Naruto; it didn't matter that he seemed dependant on the older boy for that. But Sasuke felt comforted whenever he heard Naruto's voice telling him it'd be okay. He would calm down after he talked to Naruto for a while, and then he'd hang up and get on with life.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Sakura tapped his shoulder, smiling brightly. "How does the gym look?" She asked, pointing to the handiwork Ino and she had just done. Sasuke looked at the gym, then nodded in approval; it look chaotic, the perfect battlefield for the kids in Anko's unisex gym class.

He sighed, going over to the starting line along with his team, locking eyes with Gaara for a minute, before the two nodded, and Anko blew her whistle.

* * *

Neji sighed as he poked at the frog on his tray, looking at it in disgust. He hated this class for this reason and this reason only; dissection. He looked over at his partner, Tenten pulling on a pair of sterile gloves, before passing him his gloves. He put them on, Tenten picking up the scalpel. It was second period at the moment, meaning Sasuke was still in gym with Gaara, Sakura, and other members of the Bijuu Gang.

Tenten looked over at him, brown eyes locking with pale ones, and Neji nodded once, before Tenten brought the scalpel down to the dead frog's marked stomach, slicing through his thin skin, Neji pinning the flaps of skin on either side. Genma Shiranui, the teacher, walked by then and nodded, chewing on the senbon needle quietly. Neji had always found it a little odd and discomforting that Genma walked around with a sharp utensil like that in his mouth as if ready to attack someone. He heard a rumour once he spat it at a student for being disruptive. It was also said that Genma started that rumour to scare the children into behaving.

It sure as hell worked, one way or the other, and Genma still had that senbon in his mouth, using it like a piece of straw or something.

"Good job; you see that? That's the liver." Genma said, leaning over the frog and pointing out the organ. "You might want to label that on your sheet." He then pulled back, walking in between the aisles again and looking at different partners' frogs.

Neji sighed, eyes closed briefly, before he wrote that down, peeling a thin layer of…SOMETHING from the frog to get a closer, cleaner look of his organs. Tenten gagged, looking away, and Neji grimaced as he heard her barf in the trash can Genma had placed next to all the desks for this project, sighing softly.

This was going to be a long day…

* * *

Naruto leaned back in his seat, listening to the teacher blather on about something that he didn't really care about, his blue eyes closed. He listened to the wind outside as the snow blew harshly, coating the ground in its white blanket of faux pureness. Opening his eyes, he looked over at the window, frowning slightly.

"Kakashi's gonna be a little off today." He mumbled softly, and then pushed himself away from his desk as the bell rang, and he got up and out of the classroom, getting ready for third period Math with Asuma. Asuma seemed a little out of it lately; but that could be because of his constant worry about Sasuke. He sighed softly as the dark boy entered his mind, frowning a little.

His was an enigma; a puzzle with an unending amount of pieces that just keep adding and adding. Sasuke had been telling him more and more of his memories as the days and weeks and months had gone on, and slowly he started to learn the workings of his mind—so he thought. Then Sasuke would show or tell him something new, and he'd be back at square one.

He sighed as he walked into Asuma's class with his binder and books, sitting in his seat by the window and looking out the window as the other students dragged in, talking and laughing about this or that. He felt eyes on him; people staring at him in awe. These had to be new kids just getting in during the year; though Sasuke was still 'the special kid' because now he was part of the gang the school held. Asuma walked in, throwing chalk at a student and telling them all to settle down, before he ordered them to open their pages to 347 and do questions 1—13. Naruto sighed, flipping his textbook opened lazily as he pulled out his pencil, taking a fresh sheet of paper and looking at the first question.

He then started to answer it quietly, while the other students spoke to one another and giggled over this and that, avoiding flying chalk that Asuma would throw and then collect, hurling it at some new student to make him shut up. Naruto's third year Math class was hectic; that he knew well. He had Shino in this class as well; sitting in the back, doing his work silently. But Shino always stayed out of trouble, and never had the chalk thrown at him. Once Naruto had felt that bit of chalk hit him square on the forehead once; he had been daydreaming about something. He only blinked, handing Asuma back his chalk, the teacher accepting it gracefully; though the students were laughing harshly.

He shook his head, erasing something in the equation he had written down, and rewrote it, typing up whatever in his calculator and writing in the answer.

* * *

Sasuke watched blandly as a group performed, Gai laughing boisterously at the funny parts; the other students laughing meekly because they were frightened to silence by Gai's laughing. He sighed as he closed his eyes, hearing the rustle of paper as Tenten and Neji passed notes and the soft snoring of Shikamaru dozing off in his seat. The class had become a little boring in the eyes of the students as Gai did performances. This was, of course, for a new unit; miming, something Sasuke and a few of the other students feared and nicknamed, 'The Child of All that is Evil'. Barney, of course, was the one thing that was true evil; a singing purple dinosaur never did sit well with Sasuke, even as a child.

The play ended when Gai jumped up clapping happily, before he turned to look at his students. "Now! The unit of mime has been completed, which is all very exciting. I cannot wait until we do voice manipulation! It is one of the most interactive and exciting units because you get to change your voice to fit a character; and in doing so, you must change how you stand, your facial expression, and how you usually talk. Everything must change about you; EVERYTHING!" All the students jumped as Gai shouted the last word.

"Now, though, we'll do something fun. We'll going to watch a movie!"

"Is it Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest©?" Ino asked, looking at Gai with wide eyes. Gai looked at her, and then shook his head.

"No!"

"Damn."

"If not that movie, Gai, then what will we watch?" Kiba asked lazily, his dark eyes looking uncaringly at the frightening man. Gai smiled slowly; a creepy motion on the equally creepy man. Sasuke shuddered, getting a bad feeling.

"We're going to watch…" He started slowly; ever so slowly because seeing the tension grow on his students' faces was an interesting sight indeed. "…STOMP! A group of actors, singers and performers where they play music to anything and everything around them! Ready?"

The class groaned and Sasuke lifted that ever so familiar piece of lint, contemplating once again on lint suicide. "If you don't watch it you fail." And so the lint was thrown!

* * *

Lunch was a hidden blessing from God, Sasuke decided. He walked into the cafeteria, walking to the stage and sitting on it comfortably as he pulled out his lunch and sketchpad; his new routine. Naruto sat next to him, eyes fleeting over the paper before Sasuke caught and glared at him. Naruto smiled and shrugged, stealing a cookie Sasuke had, and munching on it quietly, listening to the words of the members flow over him.

Ino marched onto the stage at that moment, flopping down beside Naruto and sprawling herself over his lap; nothing was meant by it, but Sasuke felt a twinge of something in his chest. "I found out something interesting last night." She said coyly. Naruto blinked, stroking her hair unconsciously, and looked down at her curiously. "I was in the arms of a drunken Kabuto Yakushi and learned something about Orochimaru."

Everyone stiffened then, and all attention was on the blonde; Sasuke had, of course, stiffened at the sound of that greasy man's name. Tayuya, Ukon and Sakon shifted in their places, looking at Ino with harsh eyes as they waited for her information.

"What did you learn, Flirt?" Naruto finally grounded out. Ino straightened, looking at him seriously.

"He wants Sasuke either his or dead." Ino said darkly. "He won't stand for him to be in limbo, walking around casually. Either he rejoins Oto and becomes Orochimaru's plaything, or he dies."

"Neither," Sasuke hissed, slamming his sketchpad closed and throwing it out into the middle of the stage. Neji snatched it as soon as it slid to him, and looked at the Uchiha strangely. "I will not stand for that sick psycho to be after me!" He stood up, looking at them all briefly, before he turned and stomped off. Naruto watched, wincing as the cafeteria door slammed and the entire room went quiet, before the sounds of buzzing talk started again.

The blonde then turned to his fellow blonde, looking at her carefully. "Anything else?" He asked gently, looking at her shock stricken face. She looked back at him warily, before she gulped slowly and nodded.

"He's after you, too."

* * *

Sasuke had grabbed his jacket from his locker before he left the school, walking down the snow and ice covered sidewalk carefully but angrily all the same. Any mugger, dealer, or thief that had decided he'd be a good victim decided otherwise when they felt the murderous aura around him, and decided to pester him another day. Business men and women alike walked down the sidewalks in a hurry, nodding to Sasuke in greeting as they did to everyone else; Sasuke didn't make any move to return the greeting, and the men and women didn't care because they were in a hurry.

He turned sharply to a familiar corner alley, looking up at the sky as the snow blew at him harshly, freezing his cheeks and turning them red. His eyes closed quietly, before they snapped opened, blood red as he looked around carefully. He felt another presence here.

A little girl holding a teddy bear skipped up to him, looking up at him with wide, almost trusting eyes. Though there was a strange glint in their bright depths, Sasuke pushed it away as the red faded and he relaxed. What was a little girl doing out in this weather?

"Hello Sasuke Uchiha," she said, smiling happily. "We've been waiting for you for a long, long time." She nodded solemnly, looking at her teddy bear for agreement. It was either a trick of his eyes or the doing of the girl herself, but the bear nodded back. "Come with us."

"We? Us?"

"Why, Mr Snookims, of course!" She said, holding up the ragged old bear. "He tells me what's good and bad, and he says you're good! So you should come with us; we'll bring you some place warm." Sasuke looked at her warily, before the biting cold nipped at his neck, now unprotected as he looked down at her. Finally, he nodded, and the girl grinned brightly, taking his hand and dragging him down the alleyway.

Her hand was freezing.

They entered and old building that seemed to be new, but abandoned. Unused chairs sat in an array of different formations, boxes and desks pushed here and there as makeshift tables. Blankets, pillows, and other childhood objects sat on the floor; this was the home of homeless children?

He heard the sound of shoes clicking on the floor, and froze as he felt that all too familiar presence, the girl letting go of her hand. "Sorry Sasuke Uchiha," she said solemnly, backing away from him. "We were ordered to." He looked at her oddly, before someone spun him around, and he was looking eye-to-eye with Orochimaru, that sadistic smirk on the man's face as it always was.

Thin fingers trailed along his smooth cheek and jawbone, before wrapping around his neck in a chokehold, lifting him slowly. "Sasuke," he hissed, eyes narrowed; a snake staring at its prey before eating it. "How you've vexed me."

Sasuke choked, wishing he could answer, but he couldn't. Orochimaru let go and he dropped haplessly to the ground, coughing and clutching his raw throat, looking up at Orochimaru with that all-too-familiar fright. Orochimaru kneeled down beside him, pushing back a stray strand of hair from the Uchiha's face, lingers lingering on his temple. "Why won't you return to me, Sasuke dear? I accepted you when no one else would; when you were the true you." He smiled, feeling Sasuke's will slowly dropping. He hadn't changed at all. "Why don't you stay with me? And then all of this could end."

Sasuke closed his eyes, shuddering slightly when he felt Orochimaru's palm cup his cheek, and he winced at the freezing feeling of his pale hands on his cheek. "Would it?" He mumbled softly, opening his eyes and glaring freely at Orochimaru. He smacked his hand away, backpedaling away from him with wary eyes watching him. Orochimaru looked at him blankly, a frown on his face, before he stood slowly. He snapped, and a young man walked up to him, looking up at him with questioning eyes.

"Call the Bijuu contactor and announce that we want a gang war." He said softly. The man looked at him with wide eyes, before he nodded, looking at Sasuke briefly before pulling out a cell phone, walking away. Sasuke looked at Orochimaru with narrowed eyes, still on the ground in a heap.

"What are you planning, Orochimaru?" He asked the question angrily; the thought of even speaking to this man sickened him.

"A war to end all wars, of course." He then walked off, leaving Sasuke alone in the cold building. The girl stepped towards him, looking at him sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered gently, and then a bat was upon his head, knocking him out unconscious.

The ground was cold.

* * *

Neji was playing Chain of Memories© on his GameBoy© when he felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket. Glancing over at the sketchbook beside him, he sighed, pulling out the phone and turning it on. "Yes?"

'Is this Bijuu's contactor?' A familiar male voice said softly. Neji sat up, saving and turning his game off as he paid more attention to the phone call.

"Yes," he said, looking at his desk, hand resting on it; his fingers spread out individually. "Who is this?"

'Oto's contactor,' the voice replied. 'Orochimaru-sama has a request.'

"What would that be?" Neji asked his voice stiff and forced polite.

'He asks for a war. He holds Sasuke Uchiha, but the boy is refusing to cooperate. Come to the abandoned town at 4 o'clock tonight.' The contactor then hung up, and Neji sat there frozen, the drone of the teacher lecturing far in the back of his mind. Shakily, he turning the phone off before it was dropped onto his lap.

"I gotta inform Kyuubi." He whispered, pocketing his things and standing up, grabbing the sketchbook. The teacher looked up, eyes wide.

"Mr Hyuuga, where do you plan on going?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am; I'm not feeling so well. I'm going to call home." The teacher blanched, before she sighed and nodded.

"Feel better, Neji." She said gently. He nodded, and then rushed out of the room, not caring that he had eyes staring at him. None of the people in there were Bijuu members, anyhow; it didn't matter.

Walking down the halls, he found Naruto's fourth period room, and rapped his knuckles on the door. Naruto stood up and answered the door, looking at him with a raised brow. "Yees?"

"Chidori has been captured by Manda and is now in his hands. Kyuubi, we have to help him; they proclaimed a war." He spoke quickly and quietly. Jiraiya looked up at this, eyes narrowed dangerously. He walked over, looking at the students and telling them to get to work, before he shooed the two students out, closing the door behind him.

"What did you say, Byakugen?" Jiraiya hissed, dark eyes narrowed.

"Chidori was taken by Manda, Gamabunta; that's what I said." Neji replied, looking at him straight in the eye. They then both turned to Naruto when they heard a fist hit the wall beside them.

"Damn him…" He hissed, his eyes fading from dark blue to blood red. Jiraiya placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him quietly.

"We'll get him back." He said gently, and then straightened. "I'm gonna talk to Katsuyu, alright? You guys go gather the other members of Bijuu." Naruto nodded, scowling, and Neji placed a hand on his arms, before pulling him to a hallway, looking around, before producing Sasuke's sketchbook.

"He threw this at lunch," he started softly, seeing Naruto's face soften and turn curious as Neji passed him the sketchbook; the blonde holding it as if it would break if he gripped it too firmly. "I don't think he wanted you to see what was inside…But I think you deserve it."

"It's like snooping through a journal," Naruto muttered, sitting down slowly, the pad in his lap. Neji kneeled in front of him, bandaged hands resting on the cover, before flipping it open. Naruto's eyes widened at the picture.

It was of Sakura and Hinata talking to each other, both smiling widely; the shading in Hinata's eyes exactly the same as they were in real life. Neji was beside Sakura, listening intently with a smile, and Naruto was in the back, laughing at something that a slightly smiling Gaara had said; his head thrown back, lips curved into a wide smile as he leaned back on his hands. Gaara had a small smile on his face, his eyes softened greatly. Neji looked amused by what Hinata and Sakura were saying, his eyes intent as they stared at the two girls; Sakura's hair fluttering in the wind.

His hands shaky, his gently trailed his fingers over the fine pencil work, making sure not to smudge it in any way. "That's…That one day in October…" He mumbled softly. "My birthday…Everyone was in good spirits that day, even me." He smiled, flipping the next page.

This one was of Temari sitting under a tree alone, her eyes closed; a look of peacefulness on her face. Her hair was let loose that day, and she wore a tank top and a pair of jeans with black cowgirl boots on her feet, crossed at the ankle lay out in front of her, her hands in her lap. The shading that the tree gave her was detailed; every light spot from the sun poking through the leaves shown through.

He turned the next page to see Neji and Naruto talking to each other about something, Naruto with a neutral expression on his face, Neji with his eyes closed as he spoke; mouth shaped in an 'o' sort of format as he shaped the word he was speaking; and it seemed like Naruto was nodding a little, the motion of the picture jumping out at him.

He continued to flip the pages, seeing picture after picture of the gang members each in different poses, positions and emotions. There was one of Tayuya in one of her violent rages, smashing her fist into the window of the school hallway; blood dripping down. He saw the raw pain on Tayuya's face, and felt the steaming anger in her eyes as she stood there, almost seemingly like she was panting; hair tangled in front of her face. You could see the dark brown roots of her hair growing through; she would need to dye her hair again soon.

"Does he just watch us?" Naruto asked, looking up at Neji to see him smiling softly. Neji nodded, looking at him quietly.

"Yeah; he learns more about us as he draws us more and more. Like he knows with me that I care for Hinata a lot and protect her just by the way I look or talk to her. The way I stand around her; how relaxed my shoulders are. He reads body language like second nature or a second language." He smiled. "The only one he can't figure out is you." He turned the next few pages, Naruto seeing glimpses of Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, and even one or two Shino. Finally, Neji stopped, showing him the new picture. "He's been working on this one for a bit."

The picture was of Naruto when he was sleeping; it must've been when he slept on the couch over at the Uchiha's apartment sometime in November. He had one leg on the couch, the other resting on the floor, the foot flat. One hand was also over the edge of the couch, the other resting on his stomach; tank top lifted a bit to show a slightly toned stomach bathed in moonlight. His face was peaceful, but his brows were furrowed as if he were concentrating. In fact, many emotions were conflicted on his face in the picture, hair falling into his closed eyes slightly, boxer shorts peeking out from the rumpled blanket covering him.

The shading gave the effect that it was dark, except for the soft moonlight pooling in right were he rested; his mouth slightly opened. He imagined he must've been snoring sometime during the night. The hand on his stomach was curled a little, as if gripping something, the hand at the edge lay limp; useless. The foot on the couch was relaxed; as if just resting. The foot on the floor had its toes curled, and it was tensed as if getting ready for a jump or a run of some sort. Half of his face was in shadows, the other half glowing from the moon outside.

Naruto gazed at it for a long time, surprised Sasuke had actually caught all the small details down to the last strand of hair. No wonder he was crouched over it whenever he could be; this was complicated, even to his standards! Naruto couldn't draw worth his life, but he knew good art when he saw it. And this was just unbelievable. He flipped back a few pages, seeing a picture of him where he's smiling to the wind; the beauty mark under his left ear on the jaw line shown. He smiled a little; a detail almost everyone missed except for Sasuke. And now he knew why Sasuke was so observant; an artist's eye always catches every detail down to the last bead of sweat on a running or the specific shine in someone's eyes.

Closing the sketchpad, he sighed softly, leaning back against the lockers behind him. Neji gently took the sketchpad from him, looking at the blonde for a long time, before sitting down on the floor himself. "You know…" Naruto mumbled, opening his eyes; those blue depths aimed at the ceiling. "I think…That I love him." He smiled, laughing a little at the irony in that one statement; so many different little details in that one sentence that made it so bittersweet. Things he'd love to forget. A night in Venice…

He shuddered, looking at Neji as the Hyuuga stared at him calmly. "Let's go get the others."

"Alright."

* * *

It was fifteen to four when Sasuke was finally roused from his forced slumber, his head beating against his skull wildly. He looked up at the small girl from before, holding her teddy bear tightly as she looked at him. "Nn…" He sat up with her help, clutching his head. She then turned, grabbing something, and holding out Tylenol© and a bottle of water. He took the pills and the water gratefully, letting it slip that she had tricked him and bashed his skull with a bat hours before.

"We're sorry we did that," she said gently, looking down at the ground in shame. "We were ordered to."

"What's your name?" Sasuke asked, instead of commenting on what she had said. She looked up, bright purple eyes wide, before she smiled widely; a child smile that only someone her age could hold truthfully.

"Mia!" She said happily. "And you already know Mr Snookims." He nodded, looking at the roughed up bear in her arms, before she sat down happily in front of him; dark strands of chocolate hair falling in front of her face.

She wore a ragged pale blue dress, her feet bare and dirty from walking the streets without cover. Her face was also smudged in dirt and ashes, her hand tangled and disheveled. Orochimaru had taken her in, and had not even bothered cleaning her up and giving her new clothes? He scowled at the man's new cruelness.

"Orochimaru-sama likes Sasuke Uchiha." She said gently, looking down at the ground with a tiny frown. "Mr Snookims says he's a bad man; though he offered us shelter." She looked up at him, cocking her head to the side innocently. "Is Orochimaru-sama a bad man?"

Sasuke stared at the girl for a moment, finally deciding she was a schizophrenic, but not dangerous. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"Yes," he mumbled finally. The door then opened, and Kabuto walked into the room with a bowl of some sort.

"Your dinner, Sasuke-san," he said, placing the soup in front of him. Sasuke watched it warily, and Kabuto chuckled darkly. "No need to fear; I may be knowledgeable in the medical field, but I haven't poisoned it." He said, and then kneeled in front of him, looking at his tired face quietly. "You've grown well, Sasuke-san."

"Why are you adding the honorific?" He muttered, taking the soup. He noticed no spoon, so he just drank from the bowl itself, careful not to let any spill on him. Kabuto looked at him for a long time, and then smiled again.

"Because you'll always be that little ten-year-old I respected and feared." He said, standing up. "You haven't changed."

"Yes I have," Sasuke muttered, staring into his bowl quietly. "You just can't see it."

Kabuto looked at him for a long time, before he nodded. "Perhaps." He then turned to Mia, smiling at her. "Watch him closely now."

"Uh-huh!" She nodded, and he walked out of the room, closing the door quietly. Sasuke sighed, looking over at a fireplace, which was burning wood happily. He smiled a little at that; something good in all the gloom. He felt a tug on his sleeve, and turned to look at Mia again.

"Am I a bad person?" She asked gently. "Mr Snookims won't tell me."

Sasuke looked at her quietly, placing a hand on her cheek gently. "No." He said firmly. "You're not a bad person." She smiled innocently, and Sasuke felt himself warm inside.

* * *

Naruto stood, eyes narrowed as he pulled on his leather gloves in front of his gang, glaring at Orochimaru who stood there, holding Sasuke by the hair. Sasuke looked pained, and this added fuel to Naruto's burning, raging inferno. Tayuya stood a little to the left of him with Temari, the blonde holding the pinkette back as she snarled, glaring at Orochimaru and his gang of misfits openly.

The ones fighting in Oto were children around Naruto and Sasuke's ages, maybe a little older. Younger children stood behind Kabuto on the sidelines as medical support whenever one would get injured. One of them was Mia, looking nervous as she looked at Sasuke with scared eyes.

His face was contorted in pain as he was held roughly and firmly in Orochimaru's grasp; one of the snake-like man's arms snaked around his waist, playfully slipping a finger into the hem of his pants making Sasuke gasp, eyes wide in pure unadulterated fear.

Naruto cracked his knuckles as Gaara narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man before him with more hate than Naruto had ever seen except within himself. Temari and Kankuro stood behind him, Temari's hand on his shoulder gently. Hinata stood to the side, deciding to play medic this time.

In gang wars, there were formations. You would have the front line, which would consist of the strongest members of the gang, and in this case the hostage of the other team. The back lines consisted of the weaker members in order of their strength, and on the side would be the gimped and the medical people. Hinata was the only medic in the war; but she was the best. On Orochimaru's side, Kabuto was the only one, but the children would help with cleaning blood and giving messages of conditions to Kabuto quickly. The messenger on Naruto's side was Sakura, who would bark at Hinata whenever someone went down.

Wars were more serious than battles. In war you could and would die, if you were not strong enough and didn't protect yourself well. Naruto knew well the dangers of wars, having seen many of his friends and comrades fall at the hands of the enemy. It made him inwardly steam and this added to his rage already of Sasuke being treated like some sort of whore that could be toyed around with whenever Orochimaru felt like it.

Sasuke hated the role of being the puppet in Orochimaru's arms; used to make Naruto blind with rage. But he knew his blonde well. Naruto wouldn't let his rage blind him; he'd add it to his strength. And he would help.

Shoving his elbow into Orochimaru's gut, he pulled away just enough to get his hair freed and the arm away from his waist. His wrist wasn't lucky, though, and he pulled harshly to get out of the man's grip. "LET GO OF ME!" He screamed. Naruto's anger flared at the desperate scream; it sounded so…Childish in a way. As if reliving a moment in his life he'd rather forget.

Finally, he ripped his wrist out of his grip, running over to Naruto and colliding into his chest. His wrist was stripped red and white from the tightness of Orochimaru's grasp, and he breathed heavily into Naruto's chest, his eyes wide. "What took you?" He whispered quietly.

"I didn't realize until fourth," the blonde whispered back, arms wrapped around him tightly, his lips pressed tightly against the top of his head. Sasuke slowly steadied his breathing, and pulled away from Naruto's arms, looking up at him with his calm, dark eyes. "Stand with Hime."

"No; I'm fighting with all of you." He said, pulling away and standing next to him, in between Gaara and Naruto. A line of the three most murderous teenagers you'd ever meet.

Orochimaru's eyes were cold as he stared at them, eyes narrowed. "Let's begin this."


	20. Ready Set Go

A/N: Another good song for 'My Demons' is 'Silent Tears' by Within Temptation. I don't know why, but it's just so fitting. Maybe you should listen to it near the end of this chapter, eh? I won't tell you when; you have to figure that out yourself.  
Now, moving on...  
**_FINALE!  
_**Tell me you got that.  
That's right, people! 'My Demons' is now officially over! Next to write is 'The Dark Side of the Moon'! OH! And My Demons has a Christmas Side Story I'll finish typing up now. XP  
SO MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I love you all and thank you all SO MUCH for reading my story! I hope to see you in the future! Near or far!!  
...And this is the **_character death_**.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Itachi looked at the phone for a long time, listening to the endless ring of it, before picking it up, pressing the Talk button and placing it at his ear, other hand resting on the table in front of him, leaning heavily against it. "Hello?" He said conversationally, knowing the person on the other end.

'Sharingan, we've got a job!' Kisame's deep voice was heard, and Itachi sighed, sitting down on the kitchen chair, and resting his arm on the top, looking at nothing in front of him.

"What's the job, Kisame?" He asked dully. He thought he heard Kisame smile on the other end, though he didn't know how that was possible, and then the sushi bar worker answered.

'We have a war to fight in.' Itachi's eyes widened. A war? They hadn't been hired for a war in almost four years…

"The participants and the side we're on?"

'It's Bijuu and Oto; we're on Oto's side.' Itachi froze, his breath hitching in the back of his throat. Bijuu…? But then…That meant…

"I can't," Itachi said, his voice choked as he held back emotion. "My brother's on Bijuu's side." Kisame snorted on the other end.

'Itachi, it's not like you have a choice in the matter.' He stated matter-of-factly. 'Besides…Aren't you a spy?'

"You knew?"

'Yeah; of course I knew! I mean, I'm your partner, Itachi. How stupid do you think I am?' Kisame sighed, and Itachi thought he heard him chuckle lightly; most likely smiling softly. How…Un-Kisame-like.

"Then you understand that I refuse to fight with Oto; I've sworn to myself to kill Manda. You know that."

'I know that; what I'm telling ya, dumbass, is to go on Bijuu's side. Or at least tell Leader you're gonna be neutral. I'll be neutral with ya; bet Sasori and Deidara are gonna be too.' Kisame barked a laugh then. 'Those two hate picking sides. Anyhow, so you won't be alone going neutral.'

Itachi looked at the tabletop for a long time, fingers tapping the dark wood for a moment before he let out a long sigh. When in a war, declaring yourself 'neutral' was when you fought for both sides, but didn't take a side of the argument. They just fought, and then left when the war was over. The only time you could ever call neutral was during a gang war—nothing else.

"Fine."

* * *

Sasuke had taken a sword from the other gang, kicking the unconscious body to the side so he wouldn't be in the way, before he spun the sword briefly, and then ran back into battle. He looked around at the current situation, watching and listening as weapons clashed against one another, bodies were thrown, and screams of pain were heard. He then spun around, slicing across someone's chest as they tried to stab him. His eyes narrowed as they fell to the ground, bleeding and gagging, before he looked to the person behind the attacker.

Naruto stood there with a grim expression, his lips thinly pressed together. "Don't kill anyone." He said simply, before, he walked away, farther from the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed softly, closing his eyes, before he walked into the middle of the fray, watching as people panicked, and others took pleasure in their pure malice. He blocked a few hits to his person, pushing them back, and elbowing someone in the head when they tried to sneak up on him, walking up to Neji, who was panting softly.

"Do you hold any wounds?" Sasuke asked, hitting someone with the butt of the sword and kicking them back, catching the wrist of another chain attack, twisting it until he heard it snap. He turned to look at the Hyuuga boy as he blocked the hits the opposing gang members were hitting on him, ducking and swiping them off of their feet. He then stood up again, back-to-back with Sasuke before he answered.

"I think I sprained my ankle, but I'll be fine." He said, looking around as about five different members, all older than the two, circled them like vultures. Suddenly they were knocked down to the ground, and Sasuke glanced over to see Gaara standing, there, holding his pipe quietly.

"Move quicker." He said simply, before he rushed off. Sasuke sighed, nodding to the second in command, before nodding to Neji.

"See ya," he mumbled, running off into the crowd, knocking back members as he did. He stopped in front of Kidoumaru as the spider fanatic grinned, holding a knife in each hand.

"If it ain't Chidori." He said his voice thick with oil. "Good to see you're well." The sarcasm in that one sentence was enough to make any man, no matter how narcissist, gag.

"You're staining my clothes with your dripping sarcasm." Sasuke replied easily enough, then blocked the knives with the sword, the metal clashing against metal creating a brief spark before he pushed Kidoumaru away from him, jumping back. "You ready to try and battle me, Kidoumaru?" He asked tauntingly. "You never could handle it before."

"Bastard."

Naruto, meanwhile, was looking through the throngs of people, trying to find only one man—Orochimaru. He was hiding somewhere, and he was getting frustrated. He then looked to the left when he heard footsteps, and his eyes narrowed. "Manda, you were never brave enough to fight your own battles." He said darkly, watching as Akatsuki walked towards them. Itachi stood beside Kisame, Deidara and Sasori behind him, farther from the rest of the group. He smirked. 'They called neutral.' He thought, then looked over at the fighting Sasuke, watching as he ducked under a knife, blocking the other knife and swiping a kick at Kidoumaru, jumping back before he could get cut. His eyes narrowed through when he saw blood staining his pant leg quickly, and he almost moved towards him when he felt a hand grip his shoulder.

Looking up he saw Itachi standing there, holding his sword firmly in his hand. "I'll go to him." He said simply, walking towards Sasuke slowly. Naruto watched, before he ducked, turning around to see Orochimaru standing there, a smirk on his pale lips.

"Kyuubi…Why don't you let the monster play?"

"Don't fuck with me." He growled, hands clenching into fists, before he ran at Orochimaru, throwing a punch at him. Orochimaru tilted to the side avoiding it; he caught Naruto's foot when the blonde tried to kick his side. Golden eyes met blue ones, a slow smirk crawling over his face.

"You're not my type."

Sasuke flipped backwards, sliding back a little as Kidoumaru ran at him. He raised his sword to block again when suddenly he heard metal cutting through cloth, and felt a splatter of blood. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see a black cloaked figure standing in front of him, Kidoumaru clutching his bleeding arm while he sat cursing the man in front of him. "Damn you, Sharingan!" He said shrilly, standing up and running to Kabuto to get his hand cleaned up. The man turned around, and offered a hand to Sasuke, which the Uchiha accepted. Once he looked up, though, his hand let go of the man's like it was freezing water or scolding fire.

"Aniki…?" He whispered, eyes wide.

It was his Aniki, alright. His eyes were a blood red, though, instead of their usual black, and he wore a high collared cloak with red clouds sporadically patterned on it. He held a sword in his left hand, his free hand held out from where he held Sasuke's.

"Aniki what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, looking at him in confusion. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"I'm a spy for Bijuu, Sasuke," Itachi said softly; as if he didn't want other people to hear. "I'm in the gang Akatsuki; a gang-for-hire of sorts."

"And which side are you on?"

"Neither; I'm just looking after you." He pulled back, looking around with narrowed eyes. "Why aren't you using your eyes, otouto?" He asked softly; his voice chillier than ever before. "I trained you in their uses for a reason, didn't I?"

"…" Sasuke lowered his head, a frown on his face. "Gomen, Aniki." He said simply; he felt hurt. Itachi hadn't told him he was part of a gang! He hadn't told him anything irrelevant. Was he holding anymore secrets from him? Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, knowing his brother was watching him quietly, before his eyes snapped opened, and he met his brother's red eyes with his own; three totems around the black ring around the pupil, almost like Itachi's. Itachi's totems were connected in the middle to make a pinwheel of sorts.

"Ready?" Itachi asked, and Sasuke grinned; of course he'd pull this _now_ of all times.

"Set?" Itachi smirked at him, nodding, before they both turned to the fight.

"Go."

* * *

He was never a good kid.

He liked to believe he was a good kid; at one time he truly thought he was. He did everything he was told to do without question; he did everything the grownups said.

He sold himself to the devil because he wanted to be selfish for one day. And it got him into deep trouble up to his tiny little chest. He got into drugs; he sold said drugs. He obtained a violent temper and a second personality where all he did was merciless slaughter and then a friend of his would take a picture as a memento of sorts. He would then go off to calm down, and he'd be back to being a stoic child with no feelings and a drug addiction.

He smoked once before; he didn't know when and he didn't know the details as to why, but he'd figure it out one day. Hopefully one day soon because he hated not knowing something about his life.

He thought of these things as he fought; something to concentrate on as he brought down one person after another; some of his Aniki's own comrades. Itachi had said he didn't really care for those comrades, and that if they attacked him, it was only right for him to protect himself. Just so long as he didn't kill anyone.

Everyone seemed to be saying that to him. First it was Naruto, and then sometimes during the fight Gaara had hissed it into his ear. He didn't understand; why did they think he was going to kill someone? He knew it was wrong to kill someone just because they got in his way; he learned that the day Naruto revealed to him that he had sworn to kill Chidori the day he killed the muggers.

He still didn't understand, though.

Stopping, Sasuke clutched his head, his eyes closed tightly. Itachi looked at him carefully, glancing around to see no one coming towards them before he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke," he whispered softly. Sasuke's eyes snapped opened, and he looked at his brother with his red eyes; his eyes looking weak.

"Hn…Gomen." He mumbled, then straightened, grip tightening on the handle of his sword. He looked around carefully and quietly, breathing in deeply as he tried to find a good opponent. One then ran at him in the form of Jiroubo, his three orange mohawks making him stand out. Sasuke ducked from his fist, kicking the back of his legs to try and get him to topple over.

No such luck.

Jiroubo jumped over his leg, his left foot landing on his ankle harshly. Sasuke hissed, his eyes closed tightly, before he slipped the injured ankle from beneath the foot, slowly putting pressure on it. He cried out as pain shot up his leg, and took the weight off of it quickly, glaring at Jiroubo. "You'll regret that." He said darkly, his eyes narrowing, to totems inside spinning wildly.

Suddenly a slow, maniac grin covered his face and he ran at Jiroubo quickly for one with a broken ankle, swiping at him with the sword's blade. Jiroubo jumped back, barely blocking it, and Sasuke swung at him again. This continued until his blade was stopped by an arm with metal plating on it blocking his sword, Chouji standing there calmly.

"I'll take care of him, Chidori." He said, looking at Sasuke. "Calm down."

Sasuke stepped back, eyes narrowed still, before he turned and ran through the throngs of people, looking for one person.

Orochimaru.

He found him knocking heads, so to speak, with Naruto, pushing the blonde back and grinning all the same, walking towards him as Naruto panted in front of him. Something jolted inside of Sasuke's chest as he watched Orochimaru punch Naruto in the face, making him fly back into a wall. Naruto coughed up blood upon contact, and that made the jolt inside of Sasuke turn into an electrifying jump.

Anger burst into him, and with a guttural scream he ran at Orochimaru, swinging his sword at him. Orochimaru turned, eyes widened for a brief minute, before he shifted.

The loud clash of metal slamming against metal echoed in the battlefield, and everyone froze in their spots, looking over at the angered, injured and panting Sasuke pressing his sword against Orochimaru's.

"You recognize this blade, Sasuke?" Orochimaru purred fondly. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the blade, before looking at the snake-like man again, giving a jerky nod. "You would, yes…You trained with this very sword when you still had allegiance to me." He chuckled darkly. "And now that you won't return…I guess you can die by it." He then pushed the Uchiha back, Sasuke catching himself right in front of Naruto, but a bit to the left. The blonde looked at him with bleary vision, and Sasuke glanced back at him with a grim expression, before he turned back to Orochimaru.

"Or you can die by mine." He hissed, before he ran at him. Orochimaru stood still, looking at him with murderous, insane eyes, and their swords clashed together once more, sparks flying between them from the friction.

* * *

Gaara stood silent as the battle between Sasuke and Orochimaru commenced, watching with interested green eyes. Temari took a wary step towards him; wary because of the interest. When there was emotion in her little brother's eyes nowadays, it was never a good thing. Gently she placed a hand onto his shoulder, and he flinched, looking up at her sharply.

"Gaara, please…" She whispered quietly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him gently. "Stay calm…Keep him locked in…" Gaara's body stiffened at her close contact, and he started to shake.

Suddenly Temari was pushed off of him, into Kankuro's arms where he caught his sister, steadying before looking at his brother frighteningly. "Don't touch me." Gaara hissed, his voice shaking and a mix between his normal one and the one that was Shukaku's. "I don't want to hurt you so just stay away…"

"Gaara…" Temari whispered her eyes wide. Gaara was breathing irregularly, his hand shaking by his sides. Suddenly, though, thin pale arms were wrapped around his shoulders and he stilled.

"Calm Gaara," Hinata whispered softly into his ear. He nodded, and she stepped back, sighing tiredly as she looked around the battle field. "Keep him cool." She ordered Temari and Kankuro, before she rushed off to somewhere behind them, where Deidara was crying out in pain; his arm had been cut off.

Temari took Gaara's hand, and he hesitantly held it back, following Temari away from sight of the battle to the sidelines where he needed to cool, Kankuro brandishing his knives as he followed Temari, her large fan on her back.

Hinata kneeled beside Deidara quietly, looking at the blood pooling around him heavily and wincing, before she ordered him to take off the damaged cloak. Nodding, he slipped it off with her help, and she saw the full damage.

Torn muscle was seen, blood coming out in large spurts of blood with each heart beat; the spurts becoming slowly the longer the blood was let to flow. Hinata took bandages out of her coat, taking the gauze and wrapped his around Deidara's damaged stump and torso tightly, the blood already staining through the white. "Alright, you have to keep in your screaming, okay?" She cooed softly. The blonde nodded, his blue eyes shut tightly as he held back screams of utter pain from the tight squeezing Hinata was doing to wrap the gauze. "And I need you to tell me who did this to you?"

"Some kid in Oto…" Deidara hissed through clenched teeth. "I can't remember who, exactly."

"Alright; we'll make sure they regret doing this." She said gently, and then pulled back, smiling at her handiwork. "There we are; all nice and bandaged. When you want it cleaned up and everything, come see me, alright?" He nodded, standing up with her help. "You good to fight?"

"Yeah," he said, and then smiled at her. "Thanks Hime."

"Anytime." He nodded, and then ran back towards Sasori, who looked at him worriedly, though Deidara brushed it off and they went back to fighting. Hinata then turned face-to-face with Kidoumaru. He had bandages wrapped around his arm, but other than that he looked barely injured.

"I think it's time we loose the medic on Bijuu's side." He said darkly. "You'll too good at your job."

Hinata frowned, crouching down in a familiar position to Kidoumaru; the same one Neji stood in whenever he fought. "I will not be taken down by a peon." She said softly, though viciously, her eyes narrowing as they turned just as frightening as Neji's, the veins around her eyes popping to be noticeable, her eyes turning sharp as brows turned downward in a permanent frown.

"Pen?!" Kidoumaru sputtered, snarling before he swiped at her with his knife. She blocked the black with her wrist, twisting it in such a way to grab his wrist and pull upwards, watching as he gasped. The knife was dropped, and then kicked up by Hinata's foot, and she caught it with her free hand, throwing it over his shoulder to the wall behind them. She then let go of his wrist and he grabbed it, eyes narrowed.

"Yes." She said darkly. "Peon. For that is all you are in the eyes of Manda."

"I am not just a peon!" He shouted, running at her with rage in his eyes. "I am important to Manga!"

"Zaku said the same." She whispered softly. "But he learned better after fighting me."

"You're nothing compared to me." Kidoumaru hissed. He then threw a punch at her, and she caught it, twisting his wrist quickly, before she pressed a pressure point in his neck with two fingers. He stiffened, and she let go of his fist, watching as he clutched his neck, glaring at her.

"I'm nothing?" She said softly. "Once trained by Neji-niisan, I became something. Remember this. It is your fate to loose."

* * *

Naruto slowly began to regain consciousness when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. Looking over at the shaker, he saw Itachi kneeling beside him, worry in his red eyes. "Sharingan…?" He mumbled, blinkingly blearily. "What's…?"

"Sasuke; he's fighting Orochimaru?"

"What?" Naruto snapped up, looking in front of him to see the battle from front row seat.

Sasuke was blocking the numerous attacks Orochimaru was dealing out, not letting the younger Uchiha get a hit on him at all. Swearing, Naruto stood up and tried to rush over to Sasuke and Orochimaru, but Itachi held him back. "Itachi, what the fuck are you doing?" He hissed angrily.

"I'm holding you back; the only reason Sasuke's still standing up is because he's protecting you, Naruto. He wants to protect you like you've protected him these past few months." Itachi mumbled, watching his brother as he blocked Orochimaru's swing, pushing it back and finally making his own attack, forcing the older man to go on the defensive.

"I don't like this, Itachi," Naruto mumbled, watching tensely. "Something…Feels off."

"How so?"

"I sense bad things."

Sasuke jumped back from Orochimaru's quick swing, blocking it with his sword and watching the sparks from the blades clashing together fly, hissing a little as a spark landed on the skin on his cheek. He looked up to see Orochimaru breathing normally, while he himself was panting.

"Bastard…" He breathed out, looking at him with glazed, angered eyes. He was loosing stamina and he was loosing it fast. Orochimaru grinned, pressing their blades together and leaning in close to Sasuke's face, letting his tongue run out on his cheek. The boy's disgusted look made him chuckle.

"You still taste the same; though more mature from my first taste." He said softly, and Sasuke leaned back even further, eyes narrowed warily. "I would like to have a second taste to see if my theory is true."

"And what theory could go through your sick head?" Sasuke snapped, knowing he probably feared the answer.

"One grows all the more sweeter as they grow." Orochimaru hissed, and Sasuke's eyes widened, before he pushed him away, dropping down and kicking him under the legs. Orochimaru toppled down, though caught himself with his free hand, flipping himself over. Sasuke skidded back; thunder crashed above him, and suddenly a downpour of rain fell on them, ruining the snow around them into soggy, wet puddles. Sasuke's hair plastered to his cheeks and forehead as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath as Orochimaru stood up, his hair turning much like the hair from the girl from _The Ring_©.

"You'll never see your theory answered, bastard," Sasuke grounded out through tightly clenched teeth. "You'll be dead before you can touch anyone ever again! I will not let anyone else feel the pain you've brought upon me and probably countless others!" He screamed this last part, before he ran at Orochimaru, sword brandished, and Orochimaru stood there calmly. He then suddenly disappeared, and Sasuke skidded to a halt, sliding on the wet roads. He looked around furiously, his eyes wide and wary.

"You're all talk; always have been." His voice hissed behind him, dangerously close to his ear, and Sasuke stiffened. He ducked just as Orochimaru went to stab him, and it caught his shoulder instead. He hissed, rolling out of the way, and standing up a few meters away from him, watching him through sheets of rain.

"You've never been that good at fighting me, Sasuke." Orochimaru said softly. "And you're badly injured now, too! A broken ankle you've been jumping on; that can't be good. And now your shoulder is bleeding." Orochimaru's mock worried face transformed into a defected grin. "You should get that checked."

He then ran at him, Sasuke watching him with wide eyes. The fights around them had stilled as Orochimaru's team went down and those of Akatsuki that weren't neutral fell as well, Leader among one of the many who had faced an angered Gaara. All eyes were on this battle, the rain beating down heavily on their heads, freezing them to the core. But none cared as the fought drew to a close. This was the final act. This would determine the fate of everything. The curtain would soon be closed.

Sasuke closed his eyes, ready to give in to death, and Orochimaru smiled like a maniac. He brought his sword back, and plunged it forward, determined to watch it go through his heart.

Silence reigned as you could hear blade going through flesh, and the gasp of someone being stabbed in the heart. Sasuke felt that all too familiar spit of blood on his cheek, and opened his eyes to see Itachi standing in front of him, the Kusanagi blade that Orochimaru wielded through his chest. He looked around his Aniki's shoulder to see Itachi's sword through Orochimaru's chest as well.

"You have horrible aim," Itachi gasped, blood spitting out from his mouth, dripping down his chin and falling into the waterlogged ground below them. "You missed my heart by inches, only punctured a lung." He pulled his blade out, and ripped Kusanagi out of his chest, stumbling back but holding his ground as Orochimaru's eyes faded and he fell to the ground in a lump; dead. The blood pooled around him, staining his clothes and pale skin, never to be washed clean. Even by the rain falling down on them.

"But I…Have excellent aim and pierced through your heart before you could blink." Itachi laughed, and more blood was spat out, staining his chin as his eyes faded to their black; a triumphant, tired smile on his face. He then collapsed backwards, and Sasuke caught him, falling to his knees. He placed Itachi's head on his lap, looking down at his brother's face with wide eyes.

"Aniki…Why?" He whispered, his voice a shattered form of what it usually was.

"I promised…I protect you…" He mumbled softly. "When you were young…"

_Itachi caught the running Sasuke in his arms, looking at his bruised cheek with worry in his eyes. "What happened to you?" _

"_I got into a fight with a bunch of the older boys at school. They made fun of my hair." Sasuke whined, clutching to his big brother tightly. "But they were bigger than me and so got hurt." _

"_Well you shouldn't have picked a fight with older boys." Itachi scolded, sighing and shaking his head. _

"_I'm sorry…" Sasuke whispered, burying his face into Itachi's neck. Itachi held him for a moment, before pulling him back, placing him on the ground; hands on his shoulders lightly. _

"_Here's a deal," he started, Sasuke looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "If you get into any more fights, I promise to protect you." _

"_But how can you do that? You're not always with me. Sometimes you're gone for long, long times…" Sasuke said, sighing as he looked at the ground, kicking his toe into the dirt. Itachi looked thoughtful for a moment, before he smiled._

"_Then…I promise I'll always be with you. I'll never leave you, and if I do, I won't be gone for too long. You can keep me to that promise." Sasuke looked up at his smiling brother, before a smile lifted his face._

"_Okay!" _

Itachi laughed hoarsely, coughing for a minute, and clutching the stab wound in his chest, before looking up at Sasuke. "But I…Broke the most important…Promise…" He whispered softly. "I'm sorry…Otouto…" He closed his eyes. "I can't always…Be with you…"

"No…Aniki, don't say those things." Sasuke said, lips trembling and eyes watering. Those in Bijuu and the neutral Akatsuki watched from the sides, knowing it was wise to stay back. Naruto stood there closest, fist clenching at his sides as he clenched his teeth, eyes closed as he listened to the brothers. "We'll get you help! We'll bring you to a hospital! They can fix you…You can keep your promise!"

Itachi's eyes opened slowly, and he looked at him with eyes loosing their luster. "No otouto…" Itachi whispered. "It's my time…To go…Mom and D-dad…Are waiting."

"Make them wait," Sasuke said, his voice cracking as tears mixed with rain ran down his cheeks. He clutched to his brother, face buried in his chest; listening to his fading heartbeat. "They can wait a little longer! I need you, Aniki!"

"You're all grown up now…" Itachi said, smiling. "I'm proud…"

"But you haven't taught me everything yet! You have so much to teach me!" Sasuke shouted into his chest, knowing it was hopeless. He could feel the life slipping away from his brother; his skin becoming colder; cheeks paler. "Don't leave me…"

"I love you…" Itachi said gently, a hand placed on top of his head. Sasuke then felt Itachi sag, and the hand slipped off; a sign of something he didn't want to admit.

"Aniki…Aniki I love you too…"

You would never hear a sadder sound than the one that was heard that night. It was like the sound of a wounded animal, calling for help but knowing they wouldn't get any. A pathetic sound that made you want to look away, but at the same time comfort. The tears of a lost child.

The tears of the lost.

* * *

The funeral was on a bright, sunny day, even though it was still winter. Christmas was but a week away, and the kids were finally getting out of school, spending hours on the computer writing up stories and reading stories on different websites about their favourite shows and books and movies.

No one smiled that day; joked; played around. No one even laughed, and Itachi had loved laughter.

Sasuke's face was barren of tears as he stood next to Naruto and Kakashi, right in front of the coffin, peering into the opened lid to see Itachi laying there, looking so grim that it made Sasuke flinch. Was his brother really that pale? Did he really have those heavy bags under his eyes? When he was alive he had never noticed; now that he was dead, it was so noticeable it made him feel like he didn't even look at his brother.

The priest said many words in honour of Itachi Uchiha, and then he called upon Sasuke to close the coffin's lid so that it may be lowered into the ground next to the graves of their family. The Bijuu Gang, as well as those close to Itachi, had left the city to go to the country, where the funeral was held at the old Uchiha Estate.

Sasuke walked up emotionlessly, taking the lid and, with one final look at Itachi's grim face, closed the lid with a dry click that actually did make him wince. It was a final statement; Itachi was gone. He wasn't coming back. He wasn't lost somewhere.

He was gone. He had broken his final promise and had left Sasuke on his own.

The last Uchiha stepped back to Kakashi and Naruto, Naruto placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it as they watched the coffin lowered into the ground. Mourners were then invited to go up to the grave and toss dirt on top of the coffin. Sasuke went up with many other friends, comrades and acquaintances, taking a fistful of the soil, and sprinkling it on top of the dark mahogany coffin.

Itachi had laid out a will that Sasuke had found in his personal drawers in his room, and Itachi had left everything he owned that had value to Sasuke; things like his Akatsuki robe and ring were given to Kisame, his best friend and partner, and Naruto was given a strange book that Sasuke didn't know the contents of. Naruto seemed to know, though, before one tear had actually fallen down his tanned cheek when he had gotten it.

After everyone was done, and Itachi was buried alongside his mother, father, aunts and uncles that had lived out here, Sasuke turned away, walking to the one single, cliché willow of the graveyard. Sitting beneath it, he leaned his back against the bark, looking up through the leaves at the blinding blue sky; the snow beneath him soaking his trousers and freezing his ass. But he didn't care; it was like he wasn't even there.

Suddenly, he felt a presence, and he looked down to see Naruto crouching in front of him, looking at him in worry. "Hey there," the blonde said, smiling softly. He held a hand out, and Sasuke took it, letting the blonde drag the dark boy up to his feet and into his chest. Clutching the front of his shirt with white knuckled fists, Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke, and rested his chin on top of his head, letting the Uchiha finally let out dry sobs he had been too proud to show during the ceremony.

"He wouldn't like to see your tears; they always did upset him, didn't they?"

"Yeah…" Sasuke mumbled, though the tears still fell, and he still sniffed with them. "But he also hated breaking promises."

"I think he regrets it." Naruto said, kissing the top of his head softly, before pulling back, looking at Sasuke's tear streaked face. Quietly, he wiped the tears off with his thumb, looking at him with soft, caring eyes. He then gently kissed his lips, Sasuke pressing back softly; a needy kiss of reassurance. The blonde then pulled back, pressing the Uchiha's fact to his chest.

"Kakashi invited you to come live with us." Naruto said softly, looking out at nothing as different mourners by Itachi's grave mingled, talking quietly and solemnly with each other. If Itachi had been there, he would've told everyone to lighten up; that the mood was too depressing for their health. "What do you say, eh? It'd be great; the three of us, all with our own unique personalities. I could even teach you how to cook." Sasuke smiled a little, and Naruto smiled softly. "There's a smile. So?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, before he shook his head, leaning the shaken head against Naruto's collarbone as he closed his eyes. "No…I think I'll stay in the apartment." He said softly after a few minutes of silence. "I don't think he would've wanted me to leave it; it was our home."

He then pulled out of Naruto's embrace, walking towards the grave. Kneeling in front of the tombstone, he trailed his fingers gently over the carving of Itachi's name, smiling softly. "Hey Aniki…" He whispered softly. "It's time for us to leave now. Ready? Set?"

Naruto watched as Sasuke stood up, looking over at him with a small smile. He then nodded to the blonde, and Naruto looked to the sky, saying the last of the familiar phrase.

"Go."


End file.
